Members of Calibre 50 survive COVID-19 to release ‘Vamos Bien’
The guys of Calibre 50 know firsthand the impact of COVID-19. All four members of the regional Mexican band contracted it at the same time, in the early months of the ongoing pandemic.
Most of them had mild symptoms — headaches, fever — but guitarist Armando Ramos took a more serious hit. He was hospitalized for two weeks and near the point of intubation. Much of the group’s entourage was also infected.
“2020 has been a very, very complicated year in terms of health,” says tuba player Alejandro Gaxiola. Each member of the group also lost family members. “But vamos bien (we’re doing well), like the record says.”
Ramos says the band has since adhered closely to health guidelines and tried to stay home with family as much as possible “to remedy all the sadness that has happened, in a way, and project it into the music.” “Vamos Bien,” the band’s 14th album, was released Friday.
The album cover features the group members dressed as doctors and the title emblazoned across a surgical mask. And its title is indeed a reference to the band’s response to a tumultuous year.
“It’s complicated to release an album now because the public, and everyone, is a bit disoriented,” singer Edén Muñoz says. “We don’t know what day it is, much less who’s releasing albums. But I also think it’s a good
time to get this out there so people hear new things, fresh things and to let them know, ‘Hey, we’re still here.’ ”
Fans are paying attention. The single “Te Volvería a Elegir” became the band’s record-breaking 18th No. 1 song on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart and 21st top 10 hit on the overall Latin Airplay chart. The album’s title track, written by Muñoz, puts the band’s health issues to song:
“We’re doing well/Little by little
I am coming out of this sad story/ And although it’s not easy, I will soon sing victory.”
It can also, of course, double as an ode to lost love.
The accompanying video, released Friday, makes it even clearer. We see the band partying with friends, followed by scenes of Ramos getting swabbed in a doctor’s office and eventually being intubated in a hospital bed. Muñoz portrays a frontline worker. The performance shots are set against a backdrop of scrolling
COVID-19 statistics from Mexico, which has recorded almost 2 million cases and 161,000 deaths.
The band’s signature mix of norteño and banda still makes up the bulk of its sound. The oompah horns are loud and frequent. The tears are still in their beers. But a new world pushed them to try new things.
“This was born in a different year, as we all know. That means different songs. Different mixes. There are things here we’ve never done on other albums,”
Muñoz says. “We were taking advantage of the time. We went all year without touring, without concerts, and we decided to take care of ourselves. We’ve never had this much time to prepare an album.”
Among the highlights are a cover of “Te Quiero Tanto, Tanto” a huge late-’90s hit from Mexican pop band OV7; and “Quiérete a Ti,” a lush salsa tune that finds Muñoz urging his partner to love herself.
“Why do you cover yourself with the blanket? Why do you turn off the light if you are pretty?” Muñoz sings with all the gusto of a seasoned salsero. “Why fight with the mirror? How do I explain that your body is perfect?”
The song was originally envisioned as a ranchera, but Muñoz quickly realized it “missing something.” He first reconfigured it as a ballad before giving it a more tropical twist.
“Regional Mexican to some extent is a bit formal when it comes to arrangements. Not many people are encouraged to innovate,” he says. “This huge pause created an artistic, emotional, creative void for us. We tried to fill that with being here in the studio and letting our imagination and creativity fly again. The whole album was very therapeutic.”
“Lots of artists find a formula that works and they stick with it, and that’s fine. But in our case, when we find a formula, we always change it. We don’t just want one formula. We want two or three or four formulas.”