Review: Chico Trujillo – Reina de Todas las Fiestas

Chico Trujillo
Reina de Todas las Fiestas

Barbès Records
Street: 06.23
Chico Trujillo = Sonora Palacios + Banda Conmoción

At the forefront of the new Chilean Cumbia movement, Chico Trujillo have come to embody a type of Latin party music that is universally applicable. As the English translation of their sixth album’s title is “Queen of All Parties,” it makes sense that their intention is to get asses out of seats and onto the dance floor. Those who are interested in partying to something that doesn’t sound like it was manufactured in a sterile lab will get a lot of mileage out of Chico Trujillo. The incorporation of the 30-piece brass juggernaut Banda Wiracocha into the band’s melting pot of musical influences—which include ska, rap and old-fashioned Mexican ranchera—creates a sound that explodes with passion and rhythm, forcing the cha-cha out of even the most stubborn of hips. –Alex Springer