Son Rompe Pera

Born and raised in the deep outskirts of Mexico City, the Gama brothers are keeping alive
the rich legacy of marimba music running through their family with their latest project, Son
Rompe Pera. While firmly rooted in the tradition of this historic instrument, their fresh
take on the folk icon challenges its limits as never before, moving it into the garage/punk
world of urban misfits and firmly planting it in the 21st century.

Originally performing alongside their father at local events since they were kids, their
absolute unique blend comes from a typical youthful rebellion, when as teenagers they left
behind their upbringing on the marimba and began to play in various punk, rockabilly and
ska bands. Now they’ve gone full circle with the marimba back leading the way, and their
live shows are a sweaty mess of dancing fans, with their authenticity shining through as
they give their modern interpretation of Mexican, Peruvian, and Colombian classics, as
well as their own original material and some surprise covers. The contrast of the traditional
marimba with their youthful attitude and street sense connects the audience to the past
while they dance into the future.
Their debut album was released on the ZZK Records imprint AYA on March 1, 2020 –
right as the pandemic began, thus denying the group any chance of travel to support a
record that landed on many year-end “best-ofs” for 2020. But travel restrictions didn’t stop
the band from growing their fanbase over the past year. They had to cancel 2 US tours and
3 trips to Europe (including performances at WOMAD UK and Fusion Fest), but they still
were able to partake in streaming events, and they virtually performed at the Barbes in the
Woods Festival in NY, the Mole de Mayo Festival in Chicago, a special end-of-year World
Music Insititute concert, Digital Carnaval from Cartagena, Colombia, as well as the
Womex festival