Talk:Guaco (band)

Gaitas? Not so much these days
Although Guaco started out as a gaita band, they slowly developed their own sound: Not quite gaita, not quite salsa, not quite anything. Their sound is usually called "ritmo Guaco". This stylistic shift was most evident in the late 70s and through the 80s, when their sound was at its most eclectic. Although they have continued to include one traditional gaita in every album, they are really doing their own thing 99% of the time. Songs like "Comer", "Un Cigarrito y un Café", "Cuatro Estaciones", "Ya No Eres Tú", "Que Nadie Se Mueva", etc. etc. etc. can hardly be considered gaitas. I'm a Guaco fan, but not exactly a scholar on the band, so I'm leaving this attempt at a correction in the talk page, hoping someone more knowledgeable can edit the article proper later on. Or maybe I'll do it myself after I brush up on the facts. Saludos--RicardoC 23:23, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

I've rewritten the short article to reflect that evolution, though in rather generaliazed, since I also lack the solid facts. There's a lot missing from this article as the next posting shows. It's my first addition to wikipedia ever, BTW. Crojash 18:37, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Missing things from this article
- A history section including a references to the gaita beginings, the influence of such bands as Carangano in the adition of instruments as flutes and violins to the music and what I'd call the "golden years", when Amilcar Boscán was the main singer and such hits as "El billetero" and "Pastelero" came out.

- The trident logo and its variations in time.

- Line-up changes in time.

- The constant effort to be creative and push the envelope of popular music while remaining commercially viable.

- The relatively unsuccessful attempts to reach intenational markets, particularly the US (the transformation of the song "La chicas caraqueñas" into "Las chicas mayameras" comes to mind).

Where to find such info I wouldn't know (apart from reaching band members directly). I'm suer there must be a Guaco chronicle somewhere, but haven't located it. Maybe Cesar Miguel Rondón's Libro de loa Salsa says something about Guaco (maybe not, since, while having played some of the coolest Salsa songs ever, they aren't really a Salsa band).

Crojash 18:37, 5 January 2007 (UTC)