Discos Resaca approaches Cumbia as living art in constant evolution, deeply rooted in heritage. Founded in 2017 by accordionist and producer Ivan Flores, the collective has carved out its own space through live shows and limited vinyl runs, centered on hybrid Cumbia reflective of the region’s diverse Latine communities.
Flores, born and raised in East San José, began his career in the arts as a teenager. He’s since spent more than two decades in the local scene, including early history with groups like Lado Oriente and La Colectiva. Discos Resaca grew from Flores’ strong belief in dedicated platforms for independent artists. What emerged is less a traditional band and more a fluid, rotating collective that has been described as a “super group” of cumbia artists.
Percussion, accordion and occasional hip-hop inflections anchor their projects, along with lyrics drawn from migrant experiences, community and daily life in California. As Flores puts it: “We [the band] can support one another emotionally, which allows us to express these experiences musically.”
Just within the last decade, they’ve emerged as an important voice in the Bay Area’s independent music landscape. They’ve earned not one but two “Album of the Year” nods — KQED in 2020 and Vogue Mexico in 2023 — proof that they’re resonating both locally and internationally.
“The demand for Cumbia outside of the Latine bars and community spaces was non-existent in the Bay Area, so we had to create it organically and have seen so much growth in the past twenty years,” said Flores.
Fresh off a performance at this year’s San Jose Day, we caught up with Flores for more insight on the group and to see what lies ahead.
You guys are a powerhouse in the local scene, and now, beyond. Shed some light on the collective’s history.
The Discos Resaca collective is comprised of artists that span multiple generations of Bay Area Music. Folks who helped build out the Latin and cumbia scene, along with folks who are regarded as legends in the hip-hop and Folkloric scenes, and some who are cementing their status as influential artists of this generation.
When did you decide to form the group?
I have been in the music scene since the late 1990s and have been a part of several different scenes and bands, with a strong focus on songwriting and production. I wanted to start a record label to put out the recordings my longtime collaborators and I were creating. We wanted to have artistic control of these releases, which was the motivation behind Discos Resaca as a label. Discos Resaca Collective is the band that publicly performs these compositions and is the house band for the label.
Explain how your work connects to the Latine diaspora.
The members of our group represent a multitude of cultures within the diaspora, such as Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Chicano and United States popular culture, all of which make their way sonically into our compositions. Each country has its own unique ethnic makeup and traditions. We are highly mindful of how we represent and implement those with the utmost respect to authenticity.
You just played San Jose Day this year. Can you recall a time you played here that continues to resonate with you?
San Jose is my hometown, so it’s always special to perform for the city that raised me. One moment that stands out to me was performing music in the park in 2009 and seeing thousands of people out there, seeing friends from years back, we (La Colectiva) played the set of a lifetime. It was surreal.
What are some of your thoughts on all of the recent interest in Cumbia?
In many ways, it’s great that there’s so much of a demand for Cumbia in the U.S. I feel it’s due to the bands, DJs and promoters that have continued to build the scene which has pushed the genre forward in the underground and made it hard for the mainstream venues and industry to ignore its high commercial viability and crossover potential. The only downside is that sometimes the industry tends to uplift acts for their marketability, versus the quality or authenticity of their art.
What’s in store for Discos Resaca in the near future?
We are planning to release our much-anticipated next album this year and continue to travel internationally, taking our unique brand of Bay Area and Latin American Cumbia to different parts of the world.
