I learned to appreciate the sounds that my parent’s parents grew up with through the vinyl selections that Sonorama trio, the Chicago-based vintage Latin sound purveyors, tend to spin at their events. And through them, I understood the importance of learning more about the different sounds that enrich our culture.
That’s how I came to learn about Carmen Rivero y Su Conjunto, a Mexican cumbia singer, who reigned during the 1960s. It is said she is part of the reason why cumbia exists in Mexico.
The website Mexico Desconocido writes,
“[…] Later, the genre was consolidated by Carmen Rivero, who introduced timbaletas, the güiro and a set of trumpet horns, with which Mexican cumbia forged its own identity. Although Rivero recorded versions of Colombian cumbias, the instrumentalization generated a new style that differed from what had been done until then in the South American country.”
Carmen was born in the northern state of Tamaulipas. She passed away on August 9 of 2011.
She left a colorful legacy of cumbias. She must also be credited with making a change in music as she was the first woman to lead a cumbia orchestra/group in Mexico. She was badass.
