Banda Gatchaloka

Banda Gatchaloka came out of Mexico City in the early 2000s with a cumbia sound that felt both familiar and fresh. Their song 'Boazuda' caught on quickly, becoming the kind of track people played at parties and in markets. It was their debut single, and it anchored their first album, 'El Sonidero Mayor,' which came out in 2004.

Ulises Lozano fronts the band, handling vocals. Their music pulls from traditional cumbia but doesn't stay there, weaving in other textures that keep things moving. They put out several albums over the next decade, including 'Los Chidos Chamacos' in 2006 and 'Revolución' in 2012. The work has a range, from straightforward rhythms to more charged material.

Some of their lyrics and performances have drawn criticism from more conservative listeners in Mexico. They haven't shied away from that, letting the music speak for itself. A compilation called 'Grandes Éxitos' came out in 2015, rounding up what they'd done to that point.