ORQUESTRA PACÌFICO TROPICAL channels Cumbia's fighting spirit on "El Poder"

TITLE TRACK FROM NEW ALBUM OUT JUNE 19 INSPIRES TO MAKE A CHANGE, LIVE YOUR LIFE AND NOT BE AFRAID

ORQUESTRA PACÍFICO TROPICAL is gearing up to release their third album El Poder on June 19, and today, they’re dropping the title track to show you exactly what that power sounds like.

The collective has been building momentum with purpose: the hypnotic instrumental “Fantasma” opened the door, and the ancestral groove of “Entre La Montaña” deepened the conversation. Now “El Poder” arrives as the album’s beating heart — a call to harness the strength within yourself to fight for what’s right, live boldly, and refuse to be afraid.

It’s cumbia with a conscience, and it hits hard.

The band explains, “Writing the title track ‘El Poder,’ we had this feeling of when one witnesses something so powerful, whether it’s a movement, personal obstacle or a self-realization, that you are no longer willing to stand still and wait for change. It is up to you to make that shift, in terms of gripping your inner fire or passion and transforming your life and making that conscious decision to connect with the world & your loved ones around you. This is resonated in the chorus as we exclaim, ‘Here we wait, here we dance, don’t hide, feel the strength!’ Together, we all heal & move forward to reclaim our harmonious lives. This track shines a light on our percussionist & vocalist Shana ‘Azúcar’ Lindbeck.”

El Poder is the result of a warm, inviting living-room session amongst close friends, truly allowing for spontaneous creativity and earnest musicianship at a crucial developmental stage in the album’s trajectory. El Poder finds OPT continuing its traditional cumbia-centric path, while also delving into salsa and psychedelic northwest-inspired sounds. It is Orquestra Pacific Tropical at the height of their powers, satisfying the veteran listener as well as offering new sonic explorations and a wholly unique Latin music experience.

Over the years, OPT has almost become a Portland music collective of sorts with 19 members passing through. Some of the city’s finest musicians have been in the band, while also performing in many other loved Portland groups, such as Máscaras, Sávila, Dreckig, Point Juncture WA, Alan Singley and Pants Machine, O Bruxo, Sun Angle, Quiet Countries, And And And, Roselit Bone, Bitchin’, Team Evil, Fernando, and many more.

see ORQUESTRA PACÍFICO TROPICAL live:

05/30 Portland OR @ The Off Beat w/ Josefina Del Norte + Lucha Luna
06/27 Seattle WA @ Clock-Out Lounge w/ Lucha Luna + Como Que (“EL PODER” SEATTLE ALBUM RELEASE)

07/03 Trout Lake WA @ Trout Lake Hall
07/04 Portland OR @ Waterfront Blues Festival
07/09 Chico CA @ Argus Bar and Patio w/ XDS
07/10 San Francisco CA @ Make Out Room
07/11 Los Angeles CA @ Tiki Trash Fest
07/12 Long Beach CA @ Alex’s Bar
07/15 Richmond CA @ Planetarium
08/15 Colton OR @ Homiefest

08/29 Portland OR @ The Den w/ Global Based (“EL PODER” PORTLAND ALBUM RELEASE)

“Hot damn!” – Portland Mercury

“While the song is clearly rooted in frenetic cumbia and explosive brass-band energy, the band also incorporates elements of psych rock and even subtle notes of klezmer into the bubbling cauldron of intensity. Indeed, the song gallops along with unpredictable abandon as the band layers in sharpened guitar shredding, roiling percussion, and otherworldly vocals that sound like they are being projected from atop a mountain and distorted through a wild acid trip.” – Glide Magazine (on “Entre La Montaña”)

link/embed: https://youtu.be/WZE316Q4KxA

Orquestra Pacífico Tropical was started in 2012 by Portland, Oregon music scene veterans, David “Papi” Fimbres (drums), and Carlos Segovia (guitar). Both fixtures in the Portland scene since 2000, the duo came together to create the Latinx dance night, Double Latinum Platinum, at Portland bar Tiga, before deciding to start their own band focused on performing classic Cumbias from Peru and Colombia.

Recruiting old friends from other Portland bands to create the first lineup, OPT quickly built a reputation for explosive and exciting sets of electrifying, psychedelic cumbia. Over the past decade they’ve performed at music festivals around the Pacific Northwest, including Treefort Music Fest, PDX Pop Now!, Freakout, Lose Yr Mind, Soul’d Out, Biamp Portland Jazz Festival and more, with live shows that have been described as a “jubilant rhythmic frenzy” and “mind-altering.”