DeSanguashington (Day-San-gwa-sheen-ton) is a DC-based Colombian American band that is masterful at fusing traditional Colombian folk music with music you might hear when driving down 18th Street or at an impromptu porch jam, creating something so fresh and satisfying to put your ears on as well as move your body to. If you've been lucky enough to see them perform live in the DC area, you know to show up ready to dance, smile, and feel like you're at a party among good friends.
Their newest EP, Viajero, (translates to "traveler" in English), is a testament to the emotion they can elicit through their music. It came out in early March of this year, just before the reality of the pandemic became evident in the states.
I put Viajero in my earbuds right around that time, on March 15 to be exact, when I went for a walk outside. The world felt eerie, like it was on the precipice of a nightmare, my pace lumbering with existential dread.
I pressed play and everything changed. Hearing the music did something to my spirit. It reminded me of the beauty and buoyancy of life, and before I knew it, that album became my soundtrack of the spring, and then summer, and now autumn. That first song, "La Mochila," I play it every time I walk now to remind me that I am capable of feeling that joy in a world that is so uncertain. (Go ahead, check out "La Mochila" and walk down the street with purpose, report back on how good that feels.)
DeSanguashington have just released the latest video from their EP for the song "Yo Viajo Sola," which talks about the right for women to travel alone without being harassed or abused. I had the chance to catch up with the band to talk about the EP, how they've kept momentum up with their music this year, and what they think the future of music will look like in the District.
Hello DeSanguashington, it's so great to connect with you!
You all have been busy lately with an album release, music videos, interviews, DC Music Summit, and a feature on WETA. Congrats on all of that! Before we go into details on how you are doing all of this during a pandemic, tell me about the band, who is in it and how did it come to be?
Yes Nina, that is right. We released our EP Viajero at the beginning of the year before the pandemia started closing out venues and live performances. So we have been focused on promoting our music and getting interviews to talk about our songs.
So we are a Colombian American Band that fuses Vallenato and Cumbia while adding our own flavor to Colombian folk music. The group formed back in 2014. It started as a small project; Colombians and other Latin Americans started booking us for their small gathering. Soon after we started performing at venues such as Bossa Bistro & Lounge and Tropicalia, music festivals around the area, and then at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center.
I love how you came together quite organically. Where did you all meet?
We met here in Washington, DC but most of us are from Colombia or have Colombian heritage. It’s been incredibly fun to see how far we’ve come from where we started and couldn’t be more thankful for all the support we have had over the years from our fans, friends, and families.
And tell me, who is in the band and what does each person play?
Current members of DeSanguashington include Velu Ochoa on vocals, Danny Ramirez on the accordion, Richard Benjumea on guitar, Gunnar PY on bass, and Hugo Moreno, Diego Castañeda, Hermanzo Moreno and Jaime Barreto on percussion.
Let's talk about your latest album, Viajero. It came out right around the time of the pandemic starting.
Yes, Viajero is a project that comes from our hearts. It collects our stories and brings them to life in a five song EP. The album talks about life, love, travel, immigration and happiness.
And when did you record it, just before the pandemic? And what was that process like?
We started talking about recording our own music back in 2017. Danny, Richard, and Velu were behind the lyrics and the form of our songs but each one of the other members to the ideation of this EP. Once we had the bones of each song, we got together with our percussionists so we could get their input. It was a very collaborative process.
Before we could record, we needed to collect some funds so we could afford recording. So between 2017 and 2018 we hosted several fundraisers and collected funds via GoFundMe and were able to collect funds to record five songs. We started recording at the end of 2018 with the support of our producer and friend Rafael Ponde in American University with Rogeiro Naressi. So you could say this was a project that took us about three years to finalize between fundraising, writing our concepts, studying and researching, practicing and tweaking the songs and finally recording, mixing and mastering.
As artists, it sounds like you have made the most out of this challenging situation. Tell me more about some of the positives and negatives that the pandemic has had on you as a band.
The negatives is that we unfortunately haven’t been able to rehearse or perform. We truly miss playing on stage and getting together. We still stay in touch via chat but we hope to be able to play together again soon.
With the pandemia we have had to rediscover ourselves and improvise so that we can still connect with our fans. We started a live series where every month we invited artist friends who shared with us their experience as we deal with the current situation of our lives. With every interview we also release a video of one of our songs. So between video editing and promoting our songs we have been quite busy! We have also had the opportunity to be interviewed by several media outlets here and in Colombia so right now the goal is the get the word out about our music as much as we can.
That is wonderful! I have really enjoyed watching your videos as they are released, it's been a nice thing to look forward to during these months without live shows. So, how do you think the music scene will change once things get back to a “new normal”?
We honestly do not know but we do worry about the fate of the local Latin music in the DC. To be honest, the places where our community performs are already limited. We are trying to push that boundary and hope that the music industry in DC and beyond sees the value in unity to bring a stronger DMV music scene once the pandemia is over.
Who have been the greatest influences on your music?
With so many of us in the band it is hard to choose. But some of our influences as a band are Carlos Vives, Fonseca, and Toto La Momposina.
And what about local artists? Can you name a few DMV musicians that you are listening to these days or that you admire.
This is a hard question. We love so many artists in the DMV area and there are so many of us and with so many different tastes that is hard to pick. The first three that come to mind are Elena y Los Fulanos, Empresarios, and Rafael Ponde. Better yet, we have a Spotify playlist that we created with our favorite Latin DMV musicians that you should check out!
I will definitely check that out! So last question, how can people who are reading this article support you?
We always tell our fans that the best way you can support us right now is by following us on our social media channels, specially YouTube and Spotify which we are working on growing. Bandcamp is also a great way to support us. You can also check out our store and see if you like any of our design t-shirts!
Oooh, I will definitely check that out, I would love to wear a DeSanguashington tee especially when concerts come back again hopefully next year.
Thank you so much for taking the time to connect with me! Your music has been such a gift to me, always, and the new EP has been especially helpful in bringing me joy and reflection this year.
Thank YOU for taking the time to connect with us, and for listening to and supporting our music. We really appreciate it and all that DC Music Review is doing for the community!
For more information on DeSanguashington's new album and social media pages, see below!
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