This week Buenos Aires was taken over by Cordoba when La Mona Jimenez played Luna Park. La Mona plays Cordoban cumbia and quarteto and is its reigning king in Argentina. His band of twelve - including horns, accordian, guitar, bass, drums, and back up singers - sang and danced its way through two hours of solid entertainment for a plebian crowd that sweat along through the entire show.
He invited local favorites Los Autenticos Decadentes to join him for a couple of songs. There was plenty of crowd interaction with audience members sneaking past security to join La Mona on the microphone - before stage diving into the throng. It was an exciting spectacle in a packed stadium at historic Luna Park.
La Mona is known as the Argentine James Brown (though I think I saw a little Neil Diamond in his game). He’s a real showman and definitely “of the people”- despite three costume changes (his daughters are clothing designers), he was at home with the provincial crowd that came out from all over Gran Buenos Aires to see their king of cumbia. His name is derived from el mono (the monkey) and he’s been entertaining crowds for decades with his signature curly mane and strutting dance moves.
The crowd sang along to every song - arms raised, dancing and jumping and showing off flags from every province. This was an energetic Argentine stadium experience - without the soccer game. The show was so well received that word got out to President Kirchner himself, who extended a presidential invitation to La Mona to visit with him at La Casa Rosada (the Argentine version of the White House) before heading back home.
Unfortunately, La Mona’s people couldn’t verify the invitation in time - by the time it was authenticated, La Mona was back in Cordoba, sleeping after a long night’s work and travel. There would be no meeting a la James Brown and Reagan. But La Mona’s show did boast some great ’80’s era costume changes!
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Source: Cumbia at Luna Park, Buenos Aires
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