Damas Gratis

It's entirely possible, unless you reside in Little Buenos Aires (right up there between North and South Beach... where Las Vacas Gordas throws down!), that you're unfamiliar with Damas Gratis. Hailing from Argentina, the eight-piece band has never been to Miami before. But these guys have been putting together some seriously swinging cumbia with Andean flavor, known as cumbia vilera, for the better part of the decade. The band started when founder and singer/keyboardist Pablo Lescano quit his previous band, Amar Azul. (Before that, he was responsible for putting together Flor de Piedra, considered the first of this style of group in Argentina -- though he didn't actually play in that band.) This is the first South Florida show of Damas' career, and to sweeten the pot, promoters are bringing on board your very own Bachaco. That local favorite group of kids is named after a type of wood ant and has made a name for itself by melding reggae and dancehall with cumbia. It's a delicious little blend that is damned sure to get you shaking your moneymaker... if in fact you make money with yours. We're not here to judge.