Grupo Maravilla De Robin Revilla

Grupo Maravilla de Robin Revilla is among one of the most important bands in the emergence of the second wave of cumbia sonidera as popular music in Mexico, with its creation of the "Poblano style" from the city of Puebla. It is characterized by the use of synthesizers and psychedelic guitars and effects. Some other principal groups to emerge beside them were Grupo Soñador, Los de Akino, and Los Papis. The electro cumbia of the 21st century would likely sound somewhat differently without them. They've charted all over Latin America and in Europe -- particularly in France. Given their lively stage show, they are also a successful concert draw, selling out venues from Mexico City to New York City and across the pond. The group was born in the fall of 1998, assembled by vocalist, impresario, and DJ Robin Revilla. Three months after assembling the octet, Revilla had them touring in Argentina. The band honed its sound in clubs and at parties and festivals over the next several years, finally beginning to record in 2003 with the self-titled Grupo Maravilla on the Lidares label, and Duelo de Titanes Sonideros with Los Papis and R.A. 7, but it was 2005's Cosas del Amor that broke through, getting picked up by DJs from Puebla, the band's hometown, and the farther reaches of the Gulf and Pacific coasts. The albums that followed, El Chave del Ocho, Vuela Mariposa, Mariantia, Tu Barca, Fin de Milenio, and Amor Colegial all did as well or better than their predecessors, and provided a backdrop and material for Grupo Maravilla de Robin Revilla's live show. Their singles too, received massive airplay and were spun in popular clubs in Mexico, at Ibiza dance parties, in Germany and Japan, and hip night spots in New York and Chicago. The list of dancefloor smashes includes "Tu Barca," "Ring Pumn Pin," "La Fiesta Pagana," "Como Hacer Para Olvidarte," "La Cumbia del Chavo del Ocho," "Molinos de Viento," "Baja Baja," and "Tu Seras Mi Baby." As the digital download, video, and streaming eras took hold, the band capitalized on them by releasing many videos, placing single tracks as well as catalog albums online and participating in many various-artist cumbia anthologies. In 2016 they issued the futuristic, dark and grooving Ruta 66. ~ Thom Jurek