Guaco Escultura... Guaco is Culture!

Ronald Borjas (Left), Luis F. Borjas (Center) and Gustavo Aguado (Right)
Performing in the showcase at Caracas, Venezuela.

“Escultura” which means sculpture in Spanish, is the name of the last album of one of the most authentic bands in Venezuela, “Guaco”. A showcase took place on October 26^th, in Caracas, Venezuela, for both commemorating 50 years of career, and to officially release the album. The title of the disc is now used as a band’s slogan, changing the word sculpture for the phrase: “is culture” trying to associate the band with the culture itself.

Although the impressively long and successful career of the band in Venezuela, its internationalization has always been a pending goal to be accomplished. Nobody could argue about the position of the band in the Venezuelan music market, but when it comes to its popularity outside the border, the also called “The Venezuela’s Superband” still has a considerable way to run. Other than Venezuelan people living in North America or Europe, the band is probably known and followed only by musicians. In this way, and since about two years, an internationalization strategy began with performances and media promotion in some countries of North and South America. Singles and Video promotion followed the previously mentioned shows, generating good reviews from video channels, as well as good rankings in popularity charts of those countries.

Escultura's Cover.

The recording of this last album represents probably the most important strike of the band in the last 15 years. Within the list of special guests in “Escultura”, one can find enshrined international artists like: Ruben Blades, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Luis Enrique, Andrés Cepeda and Lena Burke, interpreting diverse genres from romantic bolero, to salsa with double sense lyrics. Moreover, new emerging artist Claudia Santos, as well as former member and composer Jorge Luis Chacín; have also recorded in this album. The previous guarantees a mixture of a voice already known, and a virtuous female singer (Claudia), with a direct target on followers inside Venezuela. In other words, although the main objective is the internationalization, the constant and faithful domestic public is never forgotten.  

Official Video of "Vivo", first promotional single of "Escultura".

The result of this singular mix of guests and styles, might be interpreted as the response of Gustavo Aguado, lead singer, general manager and owner of the band; to this necessary chapter that the band wants to live, in order to finally achieve the desired internationalization. As Leon Magno Montiel indicates in his article: “Gustavo Aguado. An insurgent musician”, there is one characteristic that identifies Gustavo’s career. Even though he is the oldest member of the band, he had always been innovative in selecting the rhythms to fuse, creating a continuous reinvention, while playing a crucial producer role. “Intelligence never gets old” is a phrase that Gustavo repeats in every show.

There is no doubt about the change that Guaco is experimenting at the present moment. Like never before, the band is totally focused in finally being recognized worldwide as the sound of Venezuela. For now, the change is taking place…