i went to argentina a year ago for a show and i was all over buenos aires looking for street vendors and trying to hear local music. it wasnt easy to really get down like that.. the place had a lot of energy and all the girls had way better haircuts than in the USA. but it was super segregated socially. i had a local guide take me outside the city to a vila full of immigrants - paraguay, bolivia, uruguay that had come to argentina to find money and happiness. it was tiny streets and brick homes like apartment buildings and i had a barbecue there that was completely unreal… blood sausages and whatever else with bread and some green sauce…. anyway .. we sat and drank this crazy cheap wine and listened to local cumbia stuffs… the imigrants had brought it with them as it dripped down from columbia and took over latin america from the ghettos. that night was really perfect and i wont forget it… and i guess cumbia is like the second music of argentina now after tango and The Ramones.. check out Damas Gratis on youtube! its the Rolling stones of cumbia… with keyboard guitar and long hair and everything a year later that tour guide - Grant (who manages the website whatsupbuenosaires.com and knows everyone in argentine) had started up a party in BA with some other local partners that kinda builds on the cumbia sound but breaks down all the local musics and turns out hip hop and house dancehall and shit its like argentintronix or something and its named after a philosopher (that married a hot argentinian girl) - ZIZEK.. last month was a year into the party and played it and it was nuts.. . its kinda like the local kids are developing the sound and putting it out there with different influences… they had a table selling local producers stuff and the seller dudes was like “this one is north argentinian folkstep gauchito cowboy cumbia! this one is psychadelic cumbia! this one is progressive minimal cumbia! this is cumbia-mash…! anyway.. shit was poppin , even in europe - SAMIMs heater was the biggest club tune of the year (techno track samplin a big cumbia - its a take over!) so I bought a bunch and then had a lil collection of cumbia ish stuff after buggin in and out of there over the last year…. also grabbe stuff from my boys in mexico back in july- Whats up Toy! —-this mix is kinda like a cumbia step best of according to mad decent, i didnt even stay in south america with it - and i didnt put any of Buenos aires own vila diamante’s cumbia mashups in either but if you can find them GRab em- his stuffs is crazy..- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=85004898 .. ill do something bigger with the sound later in the year… and i suggest you go see Zizek if your ever in buenos aires on a wednesday night , its a movement! Less