Salinas, California-based cumbia urbana outfit ¿Qiensave? releases their new single, “Para Poderte Olvidar” (To Be Able to Forget You), a track lifted from their upcoming album El After, slated to drop spring 2022.
According to the band, “The song ‘Para Poderte Olvidar’ was inspired by the hardships we’ve faced and the moment we decided to let it go and forget. That can be the most difficult and yet the most beautiful moment in our lives.”
They go on, adding, “I think everyone saw a glimmer of hope everything was getting better and we started to celebrate to forget the past. Humans do this, we work to forget the old to start anew and that is the beauty of life. That’s the start of change. When people feel like things are so bad, things need to change even if leaving the past kills you.”
Made up of Carlos L. Cortez (guitar, vocals), Alejandro Gomez (guitar, vocals), Mario Cortez (guida, keyboards, vocals), Ricardo Cortez (drums, vocals), and William Cortez (bass), ¿Qiensave? formed in 2009. ¿Qiensave? recently toured and shared the stage with artists such as Grupo Kual, La Misa Negra, Celso Piña, La Santa Cecilia, Las Cafeteras, Little Jesus, Fuerza de Tijuana, É. Arenas, Tropa Magica, La Ronda Bogotá, Bang Data, and La Septima Banda.
Opening on elaborate guitars, followed by rolling drums, “Para Poderte Olvidar” flows into a delicious cumbia melody riding a syncopated rhythm, glittering guitar accents, and contagious swinging undulations. Tasty, tender vocals infuse the lyrics with sympathetic flavors, narrating the way to get over a broken heart.
Summing up the song, ¿Qiensave? says, “This one is a bittersweet tale, a recipe to forget a loss in love. We have been there, some more than others, and celebrate every moment of it, you got over that and that’s fucken awesome.”