Charanga Cakewalk

The cumbia is a frenetic Colombian beat that’s part cha cha cha and part ska. A slower, more laid-back form (usually performed with acoustic instruments — accordion, percussion, bajo sexto — that give it a less electric, more folkloric feel) is also massively popular in northern Mexico and Latin communities in the American Southwest. That chill room style of cumbia is the template producer Michael Ramos uses for his one-man band Charanga Cakewalk. On Loteria de la Cumbia Lounge, he mixes Spanish rap, smooth sampled percussion, lounge bar organ, jazzy electric guitar, synthesized strings, pedal steel guitar that’s as much spaghetti Western as it is Latin, and a smattering of acoustic instruments, creating a bubbly soundtrack for an imaginary Mexican vacation.