Perotá Chingó – TÁ

Perotá Chingó is a group born from the meeting of two Argentines, Dolores Aguirre and Julia Ortiz. It is the vocal harmonies between the two young women that have established the reputation of the group in Latin America. We also find male instrumentalists in the group. TÁ is the fifth studio offering of Perotá Chingó.

The group is part of the movement of Argentine folklore, a musical category that has its letters of nobility in the country of Evita Peron. This genre is marked by the meetings between natives and Spanish conquerors in many regions of the country, before one ended up exterminating the other. Perotá Chingó reflects the more contemporary trend, which does not hesitate to marry tradition with pop, rock or reggae.

Beyond their own albums, the two singers of Perotá Chingó multiply collaborations with multiple artists of all genres, such as the Argentinian rapper Miss Bolivia. On TÁ, we find the voices of the Colombian Torontonian Lido Pimienta and Jorge Drexler, the very famous singer from Uruguay that I often like to compare to Daniel Bélanger in Spanish version.

TÁ is a short album of thirty-one minutes, which continues the trajectory started in the previous albums. Compositions that mix tradition with discreet pop or reggae grooves. The whole encourages a playful meditation, very pleasant to listen to thanks to the vocal symbiosis between Dolores Aguirre and Julia Ortiz. There is also a reinterpretation of It Ain’t over Till it’s over, by Lenny Kravitz, which unfortunately brings nothing new. I understand Spanish-speaking artists singing in English to reach new markets; except that most of the time, it only takes away their authenticity.

TÁ is not necessarily Perotá Chingó’s best album. I liked Aguas (2017) more. But it remains an excellent calling card for those who do not know this group. Which shows once again the richness of the musical culture in Argentina.