Grupo Alegria de Huancayo

To talk about Grupo Alegria is to propose an approach to the origins of Andean cumbia, to return to the times in which big ‘chicha’ bands took over the capital and wrote the final soundtrack to an epoch of great hopes, passion and pain.
It also means talking about the emergence of Andean cumbia, which, contrary to popular belief, did not occur from the periphery of Lima, but 300 km inland, on the heights of Huancayo.

In the mid-70s, the rock scene in this central andean city —where bands such as La V Rebelion or Los Datsuns stood out— was being displaced by the emerging Peruvian cumbia, in which the electric guitar took the spotlight. The psychedelic and rhythmic guitar playing by Los Destellos' founder Enrique Delgado was fundamental in this change. A new style was born from the combination of cumbia and music genres from the highlands such as huayno: tropical Andean music, or simply ‘chicha’, like the sacred drink of the Incas.