Los Angeles' Latin Folk group Cuñao will be venturing into a musical reflection on love, death, hope, and doubt with Rayuela's release.

The Formation of the Band

This multi-ethnic group was formed during a birthday party in 2014. Despite their differences in musical background, they found harmony from their diversity.

After six years, they continue to put a global twist to their Latin and South American music. They use smooth African rhythms, magnificent Eastern European melodies, and expressive American rock music techniques.

The Band's New Album and Its Inspiration

The band's new album, Rayuela, was released on April 10. The album had been in the works for four years before its debut. Rayuela is translated in English as 'Hopscotch.' It was inspired by the novel of Julio Cortazar, an Argentine writer. The title of the 1963 book bears the same name as the album of Cuñao. The novel was a choose-your-own-adventure story. It can be read in various sequences of chapters. This style allows its readers to explore different endings and a never-ending journey of unanswerable questions search.

According to Julio Montero, the founder, guitarist, and lead vocalist of the band, the band's starting point was the novel. The novel inspired the album with its unusual usage of form and chapter sequences. Cuñao's interpretation of Rayuela is an interconnection of various music styles and rhythms. These different aspects are linked to make a masterpiece of love, doubt, death, and hope. Love, death, hope, and doubt make up the four parts of the album, Montero added.

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The Four Chapters of the Album

The four chapters of the album include:

Episode 1: Water, Life & Death

Episode 2: Things of the Heart

Episode 3: When?

Episode 4: El Camino

Each episode of the album has different themes. Episode 1 talks about life and death. The second episode shows a focus on feelings of love. The third episode of the collection includes songs that speak about doubt. Finally, the fourth and last episode is centered on the idea of hope.

Listeners of the album are being encouraged to listen to the entire album from top to bottom. However, each record can also be appreciated on its own.

Members of the band contributed all of the musical and lyrical components of the album. Also, the album contains five instrumental interludes that are solely written by each of the members of the band. This is their form of signature and imprinting of their unique personality in their musical masterpiece.

According to Montero, every song in the album covers a different topic but, at the same time, includes a universality to it. The stories in the collection showcase the diversity and uniqueness of the musical backgrounds of the band's members.

Listeners of the album are being encouraged to choose their narrative by 'hopscotching' through the album, says Montero.