In the Mesoamerican tourism sphere, the concept of Mundo Maya ideally promotes a coalition born of a unified history and a diverse present. It indexes a vibrant and deeply rooted sense of Maya identity that has persevered through European colonialism and modern globalization. Within this framework, the need to maintain and enact cultural memory is all the more important in the face of the hegemonic violence and inequity that have marked the centuries following the Columbian encounter. Mundo Maya is not a thing of the past but rather an ongoing understanding of traditional lifeways, without a linear end.
It’s entwined in this conceptual network of Mundo Maya that we find the artist known as Doctor Nativo. A full eight years after his debut album Guatemaya, new release BarrioKandela sees him continuing to explore Maya identity with an emphasis on contemporary Mexican genres in conjunction, as usual, with musical styles grown throughout the Central American region and a range of instruments that stand for the many cultural exchanges that have shaped the Mundo Maya of today. It’s an accessible and enjoyable work from start to finish.
Throughout, Doctor Nativo and collaborators evoke familiar popular sounds and artists who circulate under the world music label while maintaining a strong point of view regarding his singular artistic purpose. Nativo’s own array of instruments includes a range of percussion—güiro, turtle shell, Garifuna segunda drum, snare, maracas—acoustic guitar, and the chirimilla woodwind. A compact violin section (Maestro Javier Carrillo Velázquez, Hugo Indalecio Pérez San Juan, José Alberto Hernández Ortiz, and Marco Antonio Tolentino Solano) and a trumpet (Juan Alejandro González Villaseñor) evoke mariachi hallmarks.
As diverse as the instrumentation is Nativo’s lineup of featured guests. Rolando Marcelino Sosa, a Garifuna artist who sometimes goes by Chichiman and played with the late luminary Aurelio Martínez, frequently provides percussion and backing vocals. Guatemalan singer-songwriter Adriana Primavera plays the Cuban tres and lends her voice to the album, most prominently on the poignant migrant anthem “Minorías”.
Artist Chavajay’s melodica and marimba emphasize reggae influences and Early African-Maya contact; his Tz’utujil Maya-language rap verse on “Chocolate Kakaw” celebrates the cultural significance of cacao. Mexico City-based innovator Roco Pachukote brings a jaunty energy to ska-influenced “Caminantes”.
It all comes together very thoughtfully. Bright opening track “Miren quién llegó” serves as a buoyant introduction to Doctor Nativo’s perspective, given some weight by way of archival samples sourced from the archives of Guatemalan guerrilla radio station La Voz Popular, known for broadcasting in both Spanish and Maya Mam throughout the anti-Indigenous genocide and civil war in Guatemala that took place during the country’s Reagan-endorsed military junta.
Though the context is heavy, Doctor Nativo and crew handle it with an uplifting touch, making music that feels both determined and jubilant in its travels through Mundo Maya. They honor musical forebears (“Original Kumbiambero” celebrates Colombian cumbia legend Andrés Landero), decry capitalist greed and its effects on the entire planet (“Se la cree”), seek divine inspiration (“Oxlajuj”), and indulge in a little natural hedonism (“Fumancher@s”). It’s all done with a sense of honoring relations that makes BarrioKandela both meaningful and very, very fun.