Sweeping back onto Latin dancefloors, the folkloric music from the northern coast of Colombia has made something of a resurgence of late. Whether it’s the scratchy original records getting plays at underground tropical parties, or new Latin producers mashing up Cumbia and Vallenato with Reggaeton and electronic beats, the rhythms of Colombia are
irresistible.
But from downtown L.A., Very Be Careful offer a very different proposition. Instead of trying to update the songbook, they’ve gone back to the roots, playing Colombian Vallenato in its original and purest form, but somehow managing to make it instantly accessible with their visceral live performances. “We don’t fit into the L.A. music scene really”, explains Arturo Guzman, bass player in the band who, along with his accordion-playing brother Ricardo, grew up listening to his parent’s collection of Vallenato records. “Because we play this classic form of music, we probably wouldn’t even fit into the Miami Florida scene. There you’ll find other Vallenato bands, but most of them play a post-’70s style. And while there are no Vallenato bands in L.A., with the amount of Spanish-speaking people and the strong Latino scene there, anyone playing danceable Latin music stands a chance of developing a following.”
The birth of Vallenato as a musical form came about roughly during 1950s. Its instrumentation tells you all about the history of the music, with the rhythm section consisting of the Caja drums that originated with the slaves arriving from Africa, and the Guacharaca, an indigenous instrument that makes a scraping noise. As a way of leading the melodies the European Accordion has replaced the Colombian Flute, while the vocal melodies are specifically Colombian with the troubadour, the lead singer, adding a storytelling element to the songs. During the 1960s in Valledupare, the city where Vallenato originated, they began a festival that knighted the “accordion king of the year”. It’s a tradition that still lives on to this day with the writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez as one of the festival’s judges. Initally seen as working class music, Vallenato was later embraced by the middle class and in the 1970s became the soundtrack to the daily life of Colombia’s population.
Cumbia has always been Colombia’s main musical export, but Vallenato was a music of the people. As Guzman explains, “Cumbia was bigger internationally and became the tropical music
that other countries adopted, but Vallenato was always very locally specific and the music does not necessarily translate to an international audience. With Vallenato the lyrics are simple,
similar to the blues and with folky themes.” Like the Pogues before them, the band have refreshed a very traditional form of music with their raucous style and energy. After last year’s
successful tour it’s clear that the European audiences warm to the music quickly, despite the potential language barrier. “In the U.S. we’d only play in major cities with Latino populations.
But perhaps part of our universal appeal is that we have an amazing Caja player (Rich) who gives us a great booty shaking groove”. It’s a deeply addictive groove, so be careful. Very Be Careful.
VBC’S top 5 Vallenato tunes
1 PEDAZO DE ACORDEON – Alejandro Durán
2 LA CAJA NEGRA – Rafael Ralencia
3 LA MUERTE DE ABEL ANTONIO – Abel Antonio
4 LA MISERIA HUMANA – Lisandro Meza
5 EL PLEITO – Abel Antonio
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