Rawayana

Rawayana is a Venezuelan band formed in Caracas in 2007.^[1] The group's music combines a variety of musical genres including reggae, psychedelic, electronic, funk and salsa, and the members describe their style as "trippy pop".^[2] The band consists of Alberto "Beto" Montenegro, Antonio "Tony" Casas, Andrés Story and Alejandro "Abeja" Abeijón.

Rawayana
Rawayana in Punto Fijo, Venezuela in 2015.
Background information
Origin	Caracas, Venezuela
Genres	Trippy Pop Latin Alternative Psychedelic Pop Reggae Funk
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Broccoli Records
Members	Alberto "Beto" Montenegro Antonio "Tony" Casas Andrés Story Alejandro Abeijón
Past members	Rodrigo Michelangeli
Website	http://www.rawayana.com/

The band has released 5 studio albums and has collaborated with artists such as Danny Ocean, Los Amigos Invisibles and Monsieur Periné. They are the recipients of a Latin Grammy and have a Grammy nomination.

History

After the release of the album Trippy Caribbean in 2016, the band was nominated for Best New Artist at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, losing to Dominican musician Vicente García.^[3][4] To promote the album, the band embarked on a tour of major cities in Latin America and the United States, and released a music video for the song "Funky Fiesta" featuring Jose Luis Pardo of Los Amigos Invisibles.^[5]

Rawayana's 2021 album Cuando los Acéfalos Predominan discusses the crisis in Venezuela in both its lyrical content as well as the album's accompanying music videos.^[6] The album featured Los Amigos Invisibles, Cheo Pardo, and Akapellah, and was released in conjunction with an art installation in Mexico City.^[7] In the words of lead singer Montenegro, the satirical music video for the song "Into You", which parodies Latin American talk shows, served as a way to "[call] forth major 'entertainers' in the industry not to stay silent about the world’s problems".^[8]

On September 19, 2023, the band performed a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR to promote their album ¿Quién trae las cornetas?, which was officially released two days later on September 21.^[9] The Tiny Desk performance helped popularize them to non-Hispanic audiences. On 2024 the band embarked on the ¿Quién trae las cornetas? World Tour, with over 50 shows spanning Europe, North America, South America and the Caribbean.

In 2024, they received multiple nominations for the 25th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, winning in the Best Pop Song for their song Feriado, againsts fan favourite Kali Uchis and Peso Pluma’s “Igual Que Un Ángel”. Later that year, the band was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album category.

Members

• Alberto "Beto" Montenegro (vocals, guitar) (2007-present)
• Antonio "Tony" Casas (bass, synth) (2007-present)
• Andrés "Fofo" Story (drums, guitar) (2011-present)
• Alejandro "Abeja" Abeijón (guitar, synth) (2007-present)

Live Members

• Orestes Gomez (Synths, Samples, Percussion) (2023-present)

Discography

• Licencia para ser libre (2011)
• Rawayanaland (2013)
• Trippy Caribbean (2016)
• Cuando los Acéfalos Predominan (2021)
• ¿Quién trae las cornetas? (2023)

References

1. Mourinho, Barbara (January 21, 2021). "Rawayana, rompiendo barreras de espacio y tiempo". Rolling Stone (in Spanish). Retrieved January 25, 2022.
2. Santos, Eduardo (May 25, 2016). "Hablamos de viajes psicodélicos con Rawayana". Vice (in Spanish). Retrieved January 25, 2022.
3. "Rawayana sobre Venezuela: "La gente está más pendiente de la novela política que de los problemas"". Billboard Argentina (in Spanish). October 24, 2017.
4. Arbona-Ruiz, Marisa (June 5, 2019). "Vicente García: A Pop-Fusion Star On A Mission To Stay Authentic". National Public Radio. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
5. Estevez, Marjua (October 20, 2017). "Cut a Rug at Rawayana & Jose Luis Pardo's 'Funky Fiesta' (Watch)". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
6. Monterrubio, Uriel (June 7, 2021). "Rawayana: exponiendo el surrealismo latinoamericano". Rolling Stone (in Spanish). Retrieved January 25, 2022.
7. Roiz, Jessica (May 20, 2021). "Every Latin Album Release in May 2021: Natalia Lafourcade, Lunay, Juanes & More". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
8. "Rawayana's 'Into You' music video calls out authoritarian governments, discusses the situation in Venezuela". Al Dia News. September 9, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
9. Gomez Sarmiento, Isabella (September 19, 2023). "Rawayana: Tiny Desk Concert". National Public Radio. Retrieved March 27, 2024.