Colombian arranger/composer Lucho Argain (born Luis Guillermo Pérez Cedrón) made his first record in 1959 after signing to Antonio Fuentes Estrada's label Discos Fuentes. Soon, the talented musician and the visionary entrepreneur teamed up to assemble a major orchestra inspired by the success of Cuban Sonora Matancera. Unfortunately, the original group disbanded in 1963.
In 1975, Julio Ernesto Estrada Rincon, also known as Fruko, re-formed La Sonora Dinamita and began expanding the reach of cumbia throughout the Latin world. In 1977, Pedro Lucho Argaín took over leadership of the group, and 1979, they traveled to Mexico to record their first album in that country. Entitled Fulminante, it became a hit and started the resurgence of the public interest in cumbia as a popular art form.
In 1981, La India Meliyará became their first female lead vocalist. With her they made successful, even classic records including "Mi Cucu." Since that time, La Sonora Dinamita has undergone many incarnations and personnel changes. They have been credited as the true source of the popular rebirth of cumbia throughout Latin America and have issued dozens of albums and compilations, some of which charted. Their 1986 album, Sida, reached number five on the Regional Mexican Albums charts, while their 1989 and 1990 singles "Tucucu" and "El Viejo del Sombreron" landed on the Hot Latin Songs Charts. Their Super Exitos, Vol. 1 collection from 1995 also netted three hit singles. The band has toured internationally almost every year since 1995 and have played in Europe and North America. In the fall of 2016, La Sonora Dinamita issued the massive 22-track collection Juntos la por Sonora. It featured the legendary group performing hits and traditional cumbias in duets with star-studded Mexican artists including El Dasa, Roberto Tapia, Mariana Seoane, El Bebeto, and Chuy Lizárraga y Su Banda Tierra Sinaloense.
Almost a dozen compilations followed over the next two years, leading up to the band's 60th anniversary. In 2019, they delivered a collection of new recordings in Noches de Copas, followed by the live 60 Aniversario. In 2021, the band re-emerged with Transformando la Cumbia, a collection from the historic cumbia canon performed in collaboration with a star-studded cast of popular Latin-American vocalists including Mon Laferte, Flor de Toloache, and Victoria La Mala. ~ Drago Bonacich, Rovi