Woman's Experience: Ladama and "Confesión"

Our random song for today is by Ladama, a Latin alternative band of four women who formed in 2014 while touring together as part of the OneBeat program. They achieved quick success, as their debut album shot to Number 1 on iTunes and Amazon's Latin America charts. An international group, Ladama's members hail from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the United States, and the band holds educational workshops featuring interactive musical experiences that seeks to empower women and youth. You can find this song, Confesión, on their self-titled debut album (2017).

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://www.ladamaproject.org/english; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladama

Where Do I Come From: ChocQuibTown and "De Donde Vengo Yo"

Today's random tune, De Donde Vengo Yo, is by ChocQuibTown. ChocQuibTown is a hip-hop group from Colombia, whose name comes from the department (Chocó) and city (Quibdó) where Gloria and Miguel Martinez met Carlos Valencia. The three met up again in Cali after having moved there and Valencia told them of his idea to build a hip hop group that would fuse Afro-Caribbean music with hip hop from the perspective of the people who lived in Chocó. The band has been nominated for two Grammy awards, and has been nominated seven times for Latin Grammy's and has won twice. Their most recent win was in 2015 for best tropical fusion album. De Donde Vengo Yo was the 2011 winner for best alternative song, and can be found on their 2010 album Oro.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: http://www.chocquibtown.com/

See Ya!: Esteban Copete y su Kinteto Pacifico and "Adios Morena"

Today's random song is called Adios Morena, and is performed by Esteban Copete y su Kinteto Pacifico. An award-winning Colombian musician who is the grandson of legendary composer Petronio Álvarez, Copete is from the city of Chocó, and formed the Kinteto Pacifico in 2008. Using traditional Colombian instrumentation enhanced by guitar, bass guitar and soprano saxophone, the band creates a unique sound by fusing the contemporary with traditional African rhythms. Adios Morena can be found on their 2012 album Esteban Copete y su Kinteto Pacifico.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://www.womex.com/virtual/borojo_music/esteban_copete_ysu

What's Going On?: Herencia de Timbiqui with Puerto Candelaria and "¿Que Pasa en mi Casa?"

Today's random song is a question: ¿Que Pasa en mi Casa? It is performed by Herencia de Timbiqui and Puerto Candelaria. Herencia de Timbiqui is a group of eleven Colombian musicians of African descent that build their music around the marimba and folk music styles and fuse it with contemporary urban music. They have released five albums since their founding in 2000. Puerto Candelaria was also founded in Colombia in 2000, and its distinctive sound comes from popular Colombian rhythms. You can find ¿Que Pasa in me Casa? on Herencia de Timbiqui's 2015 CD This is Gozar (Timbiquí Edition).

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herencia_de_Timbiqu%C3%AD; http://www.riotartists.com/no-tours-currently-planned/puertocandelaria/

We Are Two: Bomba Estéreo and "Somos Dos"

Bomba Estéreo, a Colombian band, players our random tune today - a song called Somos Dos. The band's roots go back to 2001 when a loose collection of musicians began performing under the name of A.M. 770 and combining traditional Colombian rhythms with salsa, cumbia, electronic beats and dance music. The band coalesced under their current name in 2005 and released a debut album in 2006. Their followup album in 2008 led to their being voted by MTV Iggy (MTV's outlet for alternative world artists) as Best New Band in the World in 2010. They have performed in numerous music festivals in the US, including South by Southwest, Coachella, and the Austin City Limits Music Festival as well as other venues around the world. They have released four albums. Somos Dos can be found on their newest 2015 release, Amanecer. The song celebrates the coming together of two hearts.

Cultural Identity: ChocQuibTown and "De Donde Vengo Yo"

ChocQuibTown brings us the random tune for today, called De Donde Vengo Yo. ChocQuibTown is a hip-hop group from Colombia, whose name comes from the department (Chocó) and city (Quibdó) where Gloria and Miguel Martinez met Carlos Valencia. The three met up again in Cali after having moved there and Valencia told them of his idea to build a hip hop group that would fuse Afro-Caribbean music with hip hop from the perspective of the people who lived in Chocó. The band has been nominated for two Grammy awards, and has been nominated seven times for Latin Grammy's and has won twice. Their most recent win was in 2015 for best tropical fusion album. De Donde Vengo Yo was the 2011 winner for best alternative song, and can be found on their 2010 album Oro.

Salsa Remembrance: Fruko y sus Tesos with "A la Memoria del Muerto"

Colombian salsa group Fruko y sus Tesos brings us the song for today, called A la Memoria del Muerto. The band was formed in 1969 by Julio Ernesto Estrada (Fruko), who took his nickname after a popular fruit company, FRUCO, in Colombia after it was pointed out that he resembled the company's mascot. In 1973 really became known after hiring Joe Arroyo as lead singer. In 1998, the band wrote the anthem for the Colombian futbol team after it secured a spot in the World Cup. You can find A la Memoria del Muerto on their 1999 compilation Fruko y sus Tesos: Greatest Hits 2.

Just Dance: Systema Solar and "Yo Voy Ganao"

Today has been one of those days. So sometimes, when the random tune comes up for your daily blog, you just go with it and it's exactly what you need. As I play this right now, I'm dancing in my seat and making an idiot of myself in front of my coworkers...but hey, they're used to it! The lyrics are included under the video, in case you want to dance and sing along wherever you are right now.

Yo Voy Ganao is by Systema Solar, a Colombian collective of DJs, MCs, producers and percussionists brought together in 2006 by a passion for Afro-Caribbean music. They weave together different genres such as champeta, cumbia, and other South American rhythms with rapid fire socially conscious lyrics delivered through some amazing MCs between brilliant electronics. As such, they've created their own style they call "berbenautika" inspired by pikos (sound systems) and verbena (festivals). Yo Voy Ganao is from their 2013 CD La Revancha del Burro.

You're Not the Boss of Me: Systema Solar and "Quien es el Patron?"

I've had bad and good bosses. Mostly good, but the bosses that I've had that are bad or at least had bad tempers usually came with the food industry. My first job in high school was at a restaurant in my home town. The owner was a guy who was jolly and boisterous at times, but could really start yelling at you, in your face type of yelling, at others. He could be generous, and he often was. But if you did something wrong or something he didn't like, you would want to be prepared for a lot of verbal abuse.

Years later, when I moved to a new city later in my life, I was working on a PhD and needed some work to contribute to our income as well as give me something to do outside of writing my dissertation. I took a job with a chef who was running a catering business. This guy was an awful person. He was insecure, he was a belittler and a yeller, verbally and mentally abusive, and he did other things that were less than ethical. I eventually quit, but not after reliving some PTSD from a dysfunctional childhood.

These two guys were obsessed with the question "Who is the Boss?" They wanted you to know that they were the boss. If you didn't give them enough obeisance, they were going to make you pay for it. In contrast, the people who have been the best bosses in my life were those who assumed that you knew their place, didn't feel insecure about their position, and used their positions to help you learn and to get ahead with your own goals. Luckily, I work for a couple of people like that now. Who is the boss? The best bosses are the ones who don't have to ask you that question.

Now, if you ask me who's the boss at home...that's another story. Megan, you're the boss!
Systema Solar asks that very question in our song for today. Made up of some of Colombia's most well-known DJs, MCs, producers and percussionists, Systema Solar is influenced by all things Afro-Caribbean. Their name is a reference to large sound system parties called pikos. In concert, they call their shows Berbenautika, and they dress like space voyagers while they play South American rhythms such as champeta and cumbia, among others, overlaid with hip hop and electronic beats. They revel in the music, adding socially conscious lyrics that they hope unites Colombia and the world through music. This song, Quien es El Patron? (Who is the Boss?) is from their 2010 eponymous debut CD.