Los Mirlos - The World Meets Los Mirlos (2026)

Los Mirlos — founded in 1973 in Moyobamba, in the Peruvian Amazon, by vocalist and guitarist Jorge Rodríguez Grandez — are the acknowledged originators of Amazonian psychedelic cumbia (chicha): a genre where Pacific-coast tropical rhythms intertwine with the shimmering, "bird-call" tone of an electric guitar that mimics the sounds of the jungle, layered with 1970s psychedelic effects. Long revered as cult figures within Peru and the Latin American diaspora, the group achieved genuinely global visibility through the compilation The Roots of Chicha (2007, Barbes Records) and a string of landmark performances — including Coachella 2025 — that ultimately led to an invitation from production company Revancha and publisher BMG Internacional.
The World Meets Los Mirlos is conceived as a co-production between Revancha and BMG Internacional with a single overarching goal: to build bridges. The album comprises twelve tracks, each a collaboration, functioning not as a compilation but as a sonic laboratory where Amazonian cumbia is blended with the widest possible range of accents. The roster includes Rubén Albarrán, Mireya Ramos, Chicha Libre, and LA LOM alongside British outfit Los Bitchos, Latin pop-urbano artist Guaynaa, and alternative-scene figures Toy Selectah and 311.
The recording process was deliberately itinerant: Los Mirlos used their touring schedule to track material in studios across multiple countries, adapting to each collaborator's pace and musical language rather than imposing their own style, seeking points of contact instead. The lead single "Eres Mentiroso" with Colombia's Bomba Estéreo, released in February 2026, served as the album's opening statement; the El Dusty-produced reimagining of 311's "Amber" proved the project's most widely discussed moment in English-language media. Equally notable is "La Luna" with Chilean rock veterans Los Bunkers — a track La Tercera frames as the natural continuation of a fraternal bond between the two national scenes that dates back to the early 2010s.
The project's aim, in Rodríguez's own words, is clear: to consolidate the Los Mirlos legacy, open doors to new audiences, and build bridges with artists who have been shaped by their sound. In 2026, Peru's Ministry of Culture officially recognized the group as a "Meritorious Personality of Culture," a state honour that coincided organically with the international release of the most ambitious album of their half-century career.

Tracklist:
1-1 Los Mirlos;Chicha Libre - Las Noches [4:02]
1-2 Los Mirlos;Juanes - De Jueves a Jueves [3:05]
1-3 Los Mirlos;Guaynaa - Prieta de mi vida [2:39]
1-4 Los Mirlos;Los Bitchos - La Fuga del Jaguar [3:17]
1-5 Los Mirlos;La Coreañera;Funky Munchies - La Pena [2:36]
1-6 Los Mirlos;311;El Dusty - Amber [2:59]
1-7 Los Mirlos;Bomba Estereo - Eres Mentiroso [3:34]
1-8 Los Mirlos;Big Sempa;Toy Selectah - Bonita [4:07]
1-9 Los Mirlos;LA LOM - Llanto en la Selva [3:26]
1-10 Los Mirlos;Mireya - Cumbia Pa Olvidar [3:32]
1-11 Los Mirlos;Monsieur Periné - Cariñito [3:13]
1-12 Los Mirlos;Los Bunkers - La Luna [3:46]