Los Chunguitos
Who are Los Chunguitos?
Los Chunguitos are a rumba group formed in 1973 in the Vallecas neighbourhood of Madrid. Its core members are the three brothers Juan, Manuel, and José Salazar, whose aunt was cantaora Porrina de Badajoz, placing their origins within a family with flamenco roots. The group’s name comes from a children’s game that involved throwing small stones (“chungas”) at trains.
Career
Before signing with a record label, Los Chunguitos played as street musicians in Madrid. In 1977 they did an audition at the offices of record label EMI, where producer Raúl Ros convinced the label to sign the group. From then on they became a sales phenomenon both in Spain and in other European countries, with songs such as “Dame veneno”, one of their most iconic tracks.
Their rumba, strongly influenced by flamenco and Roma culture, is characterised by lyrics that often speak of poverty and hardship, connecting with a very broad audience beyond the traditional flamenco circuit.
Legacy
Los Chunguitos are, alongside other groups of their generation, responsible for the mass popularisation of flamenco rumba in Spain during the 1970s and 1980s, a genre later exploited with success by other artists such as Los Chichos and Peret.