Click image for song "Canción Desde el Abismo"

From a corner of Ecuador where fruits and flowers are the center of attention comes a band that decided to celebrate life with a reggae rhythm. Sudakaya is a group from Ambato, located in Ecuador's Central Andes, who has been wowing local audiences since 2002 with their Bob Marley inspired roots, rock reggae.

Their name, Sudakaya, finds its origins in the word "sudaka," which is the term used by Spaniards when referring to South Americans during colonial times; "Kaya" is a sacred plant for rastas (a religion with political overtones) in Jamaica. Kaya is used by rastas for meditative purposes. "We collectively decided that [Sudakaya] was the name for the band. It represents our style of music and the place we live," says Juan Manuel, guitarrist for the band.

Sudakaya's music is basically reggae, although they also fuse other Afro-Latino rhythms such as ska, raggamufin and calypso with bossanova and Brasilian samba. The band is made up of seven members who bang out their quality interpretations on guitars, bass and drums. Juan Pablo, a vocalist for the band, states: "We were seven lost souls, each one of us in our own personal labyrinth. But reggae arrived to heal our wounds. We found ourselves in the 'positive vibration' that Marley left us and then we created something new."

The versatility of the musicians, both in terms of lyrics and music composition, inspired the band into writing a plethora of songs. In the words of the band members, "pure 'feeling' and improvisation, words to stand up against a cold and impersonal system which pretends to clone feeling-- without allowing space for love, hate and everything that allows us to grow," are the ingredients for the rising success of their live gigs.

The most memorable concerts in Sudakaya's young career include a performance in Quito for Alianza Francesa's "Day of Music," a performance in the surfers' paradise of Montañita for Carnaval 2003 and in Ambato where they celebrated their new CD. The concert in Quito took place just a couple of weeks ago on February 7th (read our review). The band is scheduled to appear in Cuenca (March '04) and in Guayaquil (April '04).

The band is promoting their first music video "Super Girla" on local and Latinamerican TV (MTV, HTV). By the end of the year, Sudakaya hopes to complete their second album.

Their first CD, "Todo va bien," is comprised of twelve songs and a video clip. For your listening pleasure, we present you with the album's cover song, "Todo va bien." Enjoy, and hope to see you at their next concert!

Band members:
Hugo Caicedo - guitar and vocals
Juan Pablo Cobo - vocals and bass
Francisco Castellanos - bass
Juan Manuel Sevilla - guitar and backup vocals
Arturo Nicolalde - drums
Hernán Espinosa - teclados
Javier Escobar - percussion

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Updated: 11/01/04