GUACO IN CONCERT:
For more than four decades, legendary Latin music band Guaco has been getting fans moving with their tropical, Salsa-influenced tunes and feel-good live shows. Even though their recordings are great, Guaco must be seen live to experience their full rhythmic impact. The group's enchantingly syncopated sound is due in part to their extensive roster -- with more than a dozen members playing instruments as diverse as the timbales, congas, and charrasca, Guaco whips up a tropical storm of steamy polyrhythm that always gets concertgoers dancing the night away. Whether they're jamming on early favorites like "Gaita Sabrosa" or playing newer cuts like 2012's catchy "Vivo", Guaco always brings the party on their red-hot concert tours.
BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:
Guaco was formed in Maracaibo, Venezuela in the mid-'60s by Mario Viloria, Gustavo Aguado, and Fernando Dominguez. In the group's early days Mario Viloria was the main composer, and he established the group's identity as a traditional Gaita Zuliana band -- a folk style of music based around heavy drums and percussion. Viloria retired after just a few years with the group to focus on his studies, while the band's popularity was just starting to spread. In the '70s Guaco began to incorporate elements of Salsa and world music into their sound, and the addition of complex horn arrangements and electric guitars helped them appeal to a global audience. Guaco released an album every year through the '70s and '80s, and by the '90s they were the top-selling band in Venezuela. They've undergone numerous lineup changes over the years, but founding member Gustavo Aguado continues to helm the band as its director and lead vocalist. Latin pop fans looking for an energetic and fun-loving concert experience need look no further than Guaco.
