Punk + cumbia = fusion faves Son Rompe Pera

Son Rompe Pera, a nine-piece Mexican band led by brothers Mongo and Kacho Gama, fuses cumbia and marimba with punk rock and psychedelia, drawing from their father's cumbia roots and childhood in working-class Naucalpan near Mexico City. The group, which played Coachella in 2024 and the Americana Music Conference in Nashville, performs at Boston's Middle East venue Sept. 25, aiming to introduce punk audiences to cumbia's rebellious working-class spirit and danceable grooves.

Gama said both genres emerged from similar neighborhoods of resistance against the upper class, despite their geographic and stylistic differences. The band evolved from arranging traditional Mexican songs on their debut "Batuco" to writing original material blending marimba parts with rock instrumentation on their follow-up "Chimborazo," influenced by acts like the Misfits.