To talk about Grupo Alegria is to propose an approach to the origins of Andean cumbia. It is a way to resume the time when big ‘chicha’ groups took over the capital and put the final soundtrack to an epoch of great hopes, passion and pain.
It also means talking about the emergence of Andean cumbia which, contrary to popular belief, was not born in the periphery of Lima, but 300 km inland, on the heights of Huancayo. In the mid-70s, the rock scene of this central Andean city was being displaced by the nascent Peruvian cumbia, a variant that incorporated the electric guitar as a leading instrument.
A new style was born from the combination of cumbia and music genres from the highlands such as huayno: tropical Andean music, or simply ‘chicha’, like the sacred drink of the Incas... Soon, these young rockers from Huancayo realized that the future headed towards a different direction. Two of them were Augusto Bernardillo and Victor Guzman, who founded Grupo Alegria in 1979.
The popularity of Grupo Alegria in the chicha scene reached levels never seen before: they sell out stadiums and coliseums in concerts only comparable with those of Soda Stereo and Indochine in Lima in the late 80s.
"... Grupo Alegría, a duo with more than 10 years of success that resulted in some of the elementary themes of Andean cumbia...This record remains to remind us of the best era of the creators of the popular 'Estilo A'."
