Los Auténticos

Los Shapis helped shape and popularise chicha from Huancayo, Peru, and their 1981 debut Los Auténticos remains a key document of the style. Released on the Horóscopo label, its sleeve nods directly to the Ramones' Road to Ruin, though the music moves in a very different direction.

Here, electric guitar leads the way through Peruvian cumbia, while the vocals sit at the heart of everything. Rich with reverb and steeped in Andean feeling, the singing recalls huayno and gives weight to lyrics rooted in migration, heartbreak, betrayal, loss and everyday hardship.

Highlights include Tu boda, Borrachito borrachón and Mal amigo, alongside the Amazonian cumbia of En la selva and the bolero Perdidos. An iconic chicha album, and a brilliant entry point for anyone exploring Peruvian music.