On the evening of Nov. 13, in the packed Harlan O. & Barbara Hall Recital Hall at the University of Nevada, Reno, Grammy-winning artist Twanguero hit the stage where they showcased their virtuoso capabilities and let it ring within the wooden panels of the venue.
Those in attendance were treated to a night of music that showcased various rhythms and melodies of Twanguero’s work, ranging from styles within Spanish music, to the musical diversity within Latin American cultures, as well as the sounds of Americana music.
The twangy Valencian musician, born Diego García, started off the concert with an acoustic set featuring him and his guitar. The first song, titled “La Leyenda de Cañaveral” off his 2022 record “Carreteras Secundarias, Vol. 2,” set the tone for the rest of the night. To create a more intimate atmosphere, García recounted the stories behind each song.
In this first story, García talks about “La Leyenda de Cañaveral,” intended to replicate the sounds of the birds he heard in the jungle of South America.
“When I heard the birds, I noticed they were singing in D major,” García told the audience. “The beginning, the motif, was my attempt to mimic the sounds the birds made.”
“La Leyenda de Cañaveral” really sets you in a scene of a free atmosphere, especially with the assistance of the Flamenco finger-picking style García’s homeland is well known for.
After his acoustic set, García brought out his band and switched over to playing a selection of songs that expanded the room into a dance hall. Although just a three-piece band, it was enough to thrust a different energy into the hearts of attendees.
From cumbia, samba, folk, blues and country, García and Co. played a variety of musical styles from the continent of the Americas, displaying their firm grasp on the music of the western hemisphere.
García’s set list contained various songs and covers from his discography, with the majority of it from his 2024 album “Panamérica,” which showcased García’s take on the Mexican-classic “La Bikina” and the moving cumbia riff in the original “Reguetwang.”
“Panamérica” was an inspired album that started all the way back in 2020, where García felt inspired by the various Latin styles in the Los Angeles music scene and wanted to organize an album around that idea.
García purchased a boat, which shares the title of the album, in Los Angeles around this time and decided to record his work inside it. Through the album’s creation, García found it difficult to assemble the production during the pandemic, about which he cited that the lack of in-person collaboration didn’t fulfill the sound he wanted to achieve.
“It was missing something, [the team] needed to be there. And I just decided to not work on it amidst the pandemic. This record [was destined] to be made together,” said García, referring to his collaborators on the album.
In garnering these collaborators, García believes that having a certain level of comfortability with each collaborator creates a successful result and an even better record, instead of a more cut-and-dry approach.
“There’s a lot of collaboration on the record; there’s a singer from a [New York] band called Flor de Toloache. They came to the boat in Los Angeles… [and] I won them over with food,” said García. “I made them a Spanish dish. We cooked a dish, we drank some wine, and I presented them the song, [and I said] ‘Guys, here’s this idea I have. Ok, we can go here today, we’ll play, we’ll set up some mics’ and then after eating when we were all happy, that’s when we recorded. It was like a celebration.”
Currently on a tour throughout the United States until Dec. 18, García lives for the life of a touring musician, citing how having a strong team not only musically but organizationally really creates a strong and gratifying experience.
“I really believe in the team I’ve got; this is the team I’ve been able to piece together since I’ve been living in the United States, it’s a multicultural team… [and] I think that’s the key, to have a good team,” said García. “ You’re always improving with a band, and with the guys, who’ve been my band for a long time and are also my friends… It’s a great group experience, and the truth is that the opportunity to be able to travel with music is an experience that unifies a group and makes it stronger.”
García has been on tour for over a decade and doesn’t seem to be winding down, with plans for future performances in addition to talks from his manager of potentially playing in Romania sometime next year.
“I’m telling him ‘say yes, but wait! I’m in Reno, and I just woke up,’ ya know? It’s a bit like: ‘Wait while I look up where the nearest Starbucks is and I’ll say yes to us going to Romania,” García jokingly says. “That’s the rhythm you’re always in [on tour].”
All this, alongside a new Christmas album later this year including a cover of the John Lennon classic “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”, is what keeps Twanguero going within his career.
“The records called ‘Christmas with El Twanguero’… it’s a Christmas album where I’ve recorded it through an older method, the analog method, without a screen, computer, nothing,” said García.
“I played all the instruments [on the record] and it’s an act of solidarity with this school that I work at in Antigua, Guatemala. I was just there in the summer teaching some classes and I promised them that I would bring them guitars, electric guitars. So, this Christmas album is to collect funds for the act and it’ll be important for the Antigua community.”
García has his next performance on Nov. 21 in Oak Park, Illinois. His discography can also be heard on all music platforms, and fans can keep up to date with him on his Instagram.
