¡Vamos a Guarachar!

David Byrne injected irony into cumbia. Argentina's shanty-town bands injected sleaze and spunk. Now, Tucson's Orkesta Mendoza have taken Latin America's zingiest rhythm and rebooted it with mambo, mariachi and even a hint of the Andean anthem along the way. ¡Vamos a Guarachar! is by turns gothic, cinematic, festive and tender, making a virtue out of cumbia's traditional lo-fi keyboards and skinny beats, driving some songs towards a cool electronica vibe, others into Spaghetti Western territory and even, on ‘Caramelos’, relocating Beach Boys psychedelia to the parched desert. Bandleader Sergio Mendoza plays every instrument a cumbiero could ever need with zest, and is backed by five permanent band members on horns, bass, vocals and lap-steel. There are also 11 supporting artists including Mexican Institute of Sound DJ Camilo Lara (on shimmering opener ‘Cumbia Volcadora’) plus co-producer Joey Burns, and John Convertino, both of Calexico. The world's all about frontiers and diasporas these days, and southern Arizona, close to all those hippy vortices and drug wars, seems to be the place to be. Build a wall, Trump; these chicanos will come and dance on top of it.