With an eminently Barranquillero label theme titled ‘Welcome to Colombia’, the recently deceased maestro of African music Lokassa Ya Mbongo he said goodbye in 2020 to the stages and recording studios.
This, his last musical production, was carried out in the studios of the outstanding musician and bandleader Eduardo Machacón, in the Campo Alegre neighborhood, north of Barranquilla.
The song has now become a cult theme, relaunched on the turntables of the popular La Troja stadium, and its music station La Troja Radio, for clients and listeners.
The record has its history dating back to 2016, when Mr. Edwin Madera managed the presentation of Lokassa in the framework of the 50th anniversary of the La Troja Musical Organization.
The maestro, aware of the great acceptance of his music in the city, He wanted to pay homage to him and produced this theme.
And as a complement to crystallize this project, the artist was sponsored by Edwin Madera.
The musical impresario did not hesitate in financing considering that it was regarding a musical theme made to Colombia, Barranquilla and La Troja.
In addition to Lokassa with the taste of his strings, African musicians participated See Bungu, Makuta ‘Earth’ Color and Lucien Bokilo.
The quota of artists from Barranquilla was made up of Deivis Tapia Narváez, known as ‘Mao The Prophet’ (Perreo or Rap), Sary Lorduy (Percussion), Giovana Quintero and María Cecilia Riveros Maestre, ‘La Chechi’ (Choirs).
Although in principle the number was made a version of more than three (3) minutes for the local level, the tracks o’tracks’ recording the shots taken in this city were sent to the mail of Lucien Bokilo, who took on the song, initially baptized as “The Trojan”.
“Back home and as the months went by, Lucien took up the idea once more and in December of the same year, when Lokassa returned to Barranquilla with the same troupe of African musicians to perform at the ‘Berbetronika’, Bokilo told us that he was doing some adjustments to the theme that included guitarist Dally Kimoko, among others”counted for Ground Zero Nelson Garcia, director of La Troja Radio.
Lucien returned to Barranquilla in 2019 to take the shots and record the video in the La Manga neighborhood, with images of young dancers, Garcia added.
The musical theme and the video came to light in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, decision made by Lucien due to the lengthy post production period.
Already by then andLokassa’s state of health was deterioratinghad suffered a stroke, which along with other complications of diabetes would later trigger his death.
The song in association with ‘Palenque Records’ (Colombia)has a duration of more than five (5) minutes, with a rhythm close to ‘Reliefs’ combined with some contemporary fusions.
The maestro Lokassa Ya Mbongo, fantastic guitarist, passed away on March 15 in the United Statess and left a trail of more than 500 musical works recorded between his own productions, collaborations and participation in almost half a century of musical career.
On the Colombian Caribbean Coast, he is fully recognized for more than twenty songs that have reached popular taste, through his main channel: picó.
