Ecuador: The Andean reinvention of cumbia

This is part of a special series, Cumbia Across Latin America, a visual report across six countries developed over several years, covering the people, places and cultures that keep this music genre alive.

“When I remember you
I get very sad,
and this cumbia says,
how much I love you.”

“Cumbia Triste,” by Polibio Mayorga

The first cumbia recorded in Ecuador at the end of the 1960s had only one verse. It was called “Cumbia Triste” and was written by Polibio Mayorga. This musician from Ambato, Ecuador, tropicalized the national music of the Ecuadorian highlands, which had long been stigmatized for its Indigenous roots and the sad melodies often associated with them. Mayorga combined the rhythms of the San Juanito — traditional Andean music — with rural Colombian cumbia, which arrived in Ecuador via the record industry, already processed and whitewashed. The result marked a new identity for many provincial migrants who came to populate the country’s urban centers.

While Polibio Mayorga laid the groundwork for an Ecuadorian cumbia sound, it was musicians like Medardo Luzuriaga who transformed the genre into a national sensation. His son Manuel Luzuriaga plays for the cumbia orchestra Los Cumbancheros and when he talks about his father, his eyes shine. Medardo was Manuel’s teacher and one of the most respected musicians in the history of cumbia orchestras in Ecuador. At the end of the ’60s, Medardo created the orchestra Don Medardo y sus Players. Medardo recorded more than 100 albums, and his emblematic cumbias, including “Cumbia Chonera” and “La Novia,” still live in the collective conscience of the entire country. Many of his children and grandchildren created multiple orchestras after his death, all still playing his golden repertoire.

Estafanny Guerrero has wanted to be a “Canelita” since she was 5 years old. Standing with her boots and red hair extensions on the table, she sang the songs of Tierra Canela, a female tecnocumbia group that hires young women from all over the country. Thousands participated in the latest callout to find new members. Some musicians and spectators criticize the group, saying they’re just pretty faces and sexy bodies, but they spend long hours in singing and dancing classes, and can fire up any audience. Tecnocumbia, a product of mass consumption, mixes Indigenous rhythms from Ecuador and Peru to make them danceable.

Guerrero eventually made it to Tierra Canela and still wears red hair extensions. The 31-year-old says that she plans to withdraw from the group soon — to avoid being kicked out for being “too old.” The group’s managers prefer its members, who are often supporting their families, conceal their real ages and not disclose whether they’re mothers or if they have boyfriends in interviews.

This coverage was made with the support of the National Geographic Society Explorer program.

Karla Gachet is a photojournalist based in Los Angeles. You can see more of Karla’s work on her website, KarlaGachet.com, or on Instagram at @kchete77.