The next Summer Kicks installment is coming to us all the way from Columbia.
Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, formed in the Carribbean Region of Columbia, are a traditional folkloric “cumbia” group. They have been active for several decades, playing their traditional rhythms with are a mixture of the Colombian Indigenous, Spanish and Afro-Colombian heritage.
The gaiteros in their name means those who play the gaita flute, and San Jacinto is the town from which the group originated. Currently, the group is headed by four of the original members, Nico, Toño, Juancho and Rafa Rodríguez, who perform with a new generation of gaiteros: Gabriel Torregrosa (son), Fredys Arrieta, Dionisio Yepes, Gualber Rodríguez and other young musicians who occasionally play with the group.
From the 1950s onwards they have been touring Columbia, and elsewhere, and in November of 2007 they won a Latin Grammy for the best Folkloric Music album, for their 2006 album “Un Fuego de Sangre Pura: Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto from Columbia” (A Fire of Pure Blood).
They will be playing the stage in the Spirit Square at 7 p.m. on Wednesday July 11, with opening band the Will Wardwell Trio.
