It was the autumn of the year 2000, a new millennium, and with it came the second album of Gondwana, Praise – By the Force of Reason, the most successful album to date by the group born in the town of La Pincoya, in the north of Santiago, year 1987, and that this Wednesday he will celebrate his 35 years of career with a show at the Teatro Caupolicán.
The place chosen for the launch of Praise It was The Dome of O'Higgins Park, where the band gave two amazing shows. It was the first approach to reggae live for the person who writes these lines.
led by bassist, I-Locks Labbé, and with a top-level singer like Quique Neira, who joined in 1996, the grouping took 10 years to achieve mass recognition, what was produced with his first self-titled album (1997), with “keep” that sounded a lot on the radios in those days, such as “It was Langa”, “harmony of love” Y “Original feeling”.
Although in Panama there was a dancehall boom in the 80s′ y 90′ with artists like The general, Nando Boom o Chichoman, reggae roots in Spanish was very scarce, with a few exponents like The parrots Y The CAFRES, but not much else.
The arrival of Gondwana to the mass public, with an attractive and innovative sound and with lyrics with marked social content, also with a strong Rastafarian cultural expression, aroused great interest among the youth of the time.
That is why there was great expectation when in the autumn of 2000, in the dome, there was a live presentation of Praise, and the two concerts did not disappoint. A brutal start with Nyahbinghi drums and then the sounds of “It's only true” It was an explosion that blew my head off.
An impressive set list that included songs like “Holy Books”, “martyrs”, “Sweet love”, “Verde, Yellow and red”; “Liberty”, and the one that has been one of the main hits of the group, “Antonia”, that after its release as a single did not stop playing on the radio for a long time.
That concert was so good that I took advantage of the transmission made by the Rock&Pop to record it on cassette and take it with me everywhere on personal stereo. Even though I've heard it countless times, I still have that tape and also the digitized recording.
The vibration of the moment was so intense that somehow that concert changed my perspective on life., something that probably happened to many other people as well.
At that time the green, yellow and red in the clothes and also the dreadlocks abounded like never before and never after, and a lot of that had to do with this Gondwana album. Since then I never left reggae again.
This success led the group born in La Pincoya to the main stages, such as the Viña del Mar Festival in 2001 Y 2003, and they also fulfilled the dream of recording their third album in Jamaica, hence the name Made in Jamaica, the last one with Quique Neira, who subsequently began a solo career.
King, Maxi Vargas and actually Mc Jona They took over after Neira's departure and the composition of the band's musicians has also changed, notwithstanding the seal and the sonority continues to maintain the essence of the principle.
In total they are 8 studio records, apart from the three already mentioned are It grows (2004), Resilient (2007), Revolution (2012), Reggae & Roll (2014), We carpeted (2017), plus a Live DVD in Buenos Aires (2010), several compilation albums and an album with the Portuguese versions of the album It grows (In Portuguese, 2020), among others.
More than 450 thousand records sold, more of 1.200 live shows in their 35 year career, nine number singles 1 in national rankings, Presentations at the main reggae and rock festivals in the world and millions of reproductions on the different music platforms, Gondwana is undoubtedly the most influential reggae band in this part of the world and with the greatest presence representing Chile on international stages..
This Wednesday 14 from December, at the Caupolican Theater, from 21:00 hours, Gondwana will celebrate its 35 years of experience, where he will review his main successes. Tickets can be purchased through the system Ticket point.
