El Aguajal
The opening track of Los Auténticos, called the anthem of the genre.
Los Shapis, from Los Auténticos (1982)
An aguajal is a swamp dominated by aguaje palms. English Wikipedia describes a 1981 hit that is a modern adaptation of a traditional huayno, and El Peruano dates it to the 1982 album and calls it the standout. La República calls it the anthem of the genre, and Gestión reports over a million plays on Spotify in 2019. We found no writer credit. On The Roots of Chicha 2 it appears as "Aguajal"; Sounds and Colours called it one of the real discoveries on the release, sung in the huayno style with no trace of the Afro-Cuban sound, and PopMatters's Russ Slater a stunning piece of pop that stands out from everything else, deserving recognition as a chicha classic.
It closed the ten-song Vivo X El Rock set on November 23, 2019. We found no play counts, covers or samples.
On stage
- 2019-11-23, Vivo X El Rock, Estadio San Marcos, Lima Closed the set.
Sources
- Los Shapis, Wikipedia
- The Roots of Chicha 2, Sounds and Colours (2010)
- Various Artists, The Roots of Chicha 2, PopMatters (2010-10-27)
- Los Shapis, 38 años de una dupla, Gestión (2019)