Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto
About this Artist
LOS GAITEROS DE SAN JACINTO has been the most important gaita and traditional cumbia ensemble in Colombia since the mid-1950s. Gaita is a term used to name a Colombian musical instrument, various musical genres, and an ensemble (the conjunto de gaitas), all from the Caribbean region of Colombia, from where much commercially available Colombian traditional and popular music comes.
In the mid 1950s, they undertook their first tour throughout Colombia, under the leadership of folklorists Manuel and Delia Zapata Olivella. In 1958, they toured internationally to China and Japan, and to Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and other European countries.
In 1968, Los Gaiteros represented Colombia at The Cultural Olimpic Expo in Mexico. Their touring, the exceptional quality of their musicians across generations, and the fact that they are one of the few gaita ensembles whose music has been commercially produced have made them the most important conjunto de gaitas in Colombia.
In 2007 LOS GAITEROS DE SAN JACINTO won the LATIN GRAMMY BEST TRADITIONAL ALBUM, the title of this recording, Un Fuego de Sangre Pura, by Smithsonian Recordins, evokes the current difficult and painful times in the region of Montes de María, the home of many of the musicians on this recording
The founder and initial leader of the Gaiteros de San Jacinto was Miguel Antonio “Toño” Fernández, Now day The LINE UP of the Band is leaded by Rafael Castro (voz líder), Gabriel Torregrosa (Tambora - Director), Wilson Fontalvo (Tambor alegre), Adolfo Rodríguez (Tambor llamador), Iván Sal- cedo (Gaita hembra), Luis Salcedo (Gaita macho y maraca), Javier Mutis MC. The fact that the group has persisted and includes several generations of musicians speaks to the vitality of this tradition. Through their own new compositions and through teaching young musicians, LOS GAITEROS DE SAN JACINTO are a crucial link between traditional gaita & cumbia music and its contemporary renewal. Thanks in great part to them; gaita music has become one of the most influential traditional music in contemporary Colombian popular music today.