Latin Grammy winners, Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto played Colombian folk music which reminded Jamaicans of themselves.

Band leader and vocalist Juancho Fernandez, 78, sang high-pitched like mento singer Stanley Beckford; his band played shakers like mento graters; gaiteros (reed flutes) like Jamaican fifes; and drummed patterns similar to Kumina, Wednesday night in Kingston.

In Decima la Miseria humana (Human misery) Fernandez bellowed as if crying on the Colombian mountain-side, where this music originated. He chanted on a Latin minor scale holding notes for seconds which filled the Edna Manley College Auditorium. There was no music accompanying him, only silence in between his phrases. Up and down the scale he chanted ending phrases with yodels. A few young men in the back, didn't get it and laughed. After a few more phrases the band drummed a wicked rhythm with a majestic flute progression in a major-key. A few patrons danced brukins to the music which they instinctively found familiar. The group came to Jamaica under the patronage of the Colombian embassy. "

In Sigan Bailando (Keep on Dancing) Fernandez wagged his finger at the crowd and sang a call and response in Spanish, over which the gaiteros looped a melody of celebration. The bass drum was hit in triplets (1-2-3) whilst the lead drums were simultaneously hit in quadruplets (1-2-3-4). It gave the song a polyrhythmic quality. Three of the 13 songs they performed had this structure. The seven-man group was dressed in full white with red handkerchiefs around their necks and huge hats.

In between Mi Regreso and Puyalo Ahi Fernandez spoke Spanish, which annoyed some of young men in the audience. They mocked the elder: "Speak patios nuh!"
Others patronised him: "Si, si, si". But the jeering isn't very dissimilar from that delivered to mento bands, who find it difficult to pass on the traditions to younger generations. However, Los Gaiteros De San Jacinto has preserved their gaita music for five generations. The band started in 1930 and has become a cultural icon in Colombia. They won a Latin Grammy in 2007 for best traditional album, entitled Un Fuego de Sangre Pura (Fire in the Blood).

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