Step up to some Spanish dance

Colombian dance music band to perform in town, conduct workshops for kids in Dharavi.

Clearly, 12-piece Colombian act Banda La Republica doesn’t take the proverb ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ seriously. Featuring an expansive lineup and a variety of instruments — from the trombone to the banjo — the South American dance music group will perform their debut gig in the city tonight.

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Defining their music as “groovy neo-trópico”, the band explains that their sound encompasses traditional yet contemporary Colombian music. “Tonight, you can listen to the rhythms of salsa, timba, and parro that hail from the Colombian Pacific region, and some hypnotic Latin jazz to go along with it,” says drummer Juan Guillermo Aguilar.

“People in India love music and dance, so we believe that a combination of a Colombian band with the Indian audience is bound to be explosive,” Juan adds.So what’s it like being in a 12-member band? “Initially, it was obviously difficult to get in sync, but with time, we’ve learnt to respect each other’s views and that’s what makes us all the more dynamic,” Juan says.

Although the band sings in Spanish, Juan doesn’t feel it’ll pose a problem to Indian listeners, saying, “It doesn’t matter, we simply want Mumbaikars to delve into the madness of Fiesta Elegante.” Ask him what Fiesta Elegante means and pat comes his reply, “It can’t be translated. It’s something that our audiences shall experience tonight!”