Los Shapis
Los Shapis is a Peruvian music group that mainly makes music in the Chicha and Cumbia Andina styles. With their connection of the Cumbia Andina with elements of techno , they had and still have a formative effect on subsequent generations of musicians who are still based on the style of the Shapis today. They therefore played a major role in the boom in the Tecno Cumbia , which began in the 1980s and continues to this day.
The band had their first big success in 1981 with El Aguajal ( Eng . The Moor ), a modern interpretation of a well-known Hayno in the Cumbia style . One of her trademarks is her rainbow colored clothing. The rainbow flag was the sign of the Incas .
The name Los Shapis comes from a martial dance from the area around Huancayo . The dance was performed when a tribe felt attacked by another, hostile-minded tribe.
The way to success
On February 14, 1981, Julio Simeon and Jaime Moreyra, both with extensive experience in the music business, met in Huancayo to form a band that would appear for the first time a few days later. At the beginning, Los Shapis had five members. With the great success, the number of musicians also grew.
The great success of the Shapis can be explained by the many new residents of the Peruvian capital Lima , who originally came from different areas of the Andes and settled on the outskirts of Lima. In Lima, the newcomers from the mountains mostly belonged to the poor lower class. When a music group finally came along with the Shapis and brought "their" music to the capital, there was something they could hold onto. In the beginning, the music was unpopular with the upper and middle classes, but over time it also found its way to the discos and radios in the center of Lima, where the Shapis keep their music to this day.
The biggest successes
The Los Shapis repertoire includes many songs with socially critical texts, as well as entertaining songs and ballads.
- El Aguajal (Eng. The Moor )
- El Chofercito (Eng. The Driver )
- La Novia (Eng. The Bride )
- Mi Tallercito (German my workshop )
- Borrachito borrachón (Eng. The drinker )
- Cusqueñita (Eng. The girl from Cusco )
- Aguita Clara (German clear water )
- Corazoncito (German heart )
and many more.
In 2001, an anniversary CD was released with “20 años contigo”. The last CD released is "La Historia Musical Los Shapis", which was released in 2005. On this CD you will find the greatest hits, newly recorded by the current members of the Shapis.
Discography
- 2001: 20 years contigo
- 2002: Colección Especial
- 2005: La historia musical
Filmography
- 1986: Los Shapis en el mundo de los pobres
Web links and sources
- Jaime Moreyra de Los Shapis . Interview, January 5, 2007 (Spanish)
- Arturo Quispe Lázaro: Globalización y cultura en contextos nacionales y / o locales: De la música chicha a la tecnocumbia (Spanish, English). Originally published in: Debates en Sociología , No. 25–26 (2000), 119–141
- Enrique from Chichaweb.com in conversation with Jaime Moreyra, co-founder of the Shapis.
- Songs from the Dust A comparative analysis of Los Shapis, Chicha music and the social environment which gave birth to both. (English)