A wonderfully evocative noun from the Spanish for word buzz, and meaning both a South American hummingbird, a door buzzer, and symbolic of resurrection of the soul in ancient Mexican culture, while also serving as the logo for a tequila brand.
In Mexican mythology, specifically within Mayan lore, the Zumbador is a legendary creature, often described as a bird with a beautiful yet ominous song, associated with vengeance and death. It is frequently linked to a cautionary tale about a shaman, a scorned maiden, and a tragic end, with its presence often felt in southern Mexico or near ancient ruin.
There is even a song using the word as its title by the Puerto Rican pop young boyband Menudo, one the music’s most commercially successful. Formed in 1977 and initially comprising brothers and cousins, it had many hits and released multiple LPs, particularly in the 1980s, selling 20 million albums worldwide. A rolling cast of members included Ricky Martin in 1984 when he was only 12 as well as Draco Rosa and Ray Reyes. The band experienced all the usual inevitable showbiz pressures, ups and downs, riffs, disputes and rows, drink and drug problems, before dissolving in the 1990s. But here then is their catchy, cheesy disco pop hit Zumbador.
Meanwhile, from an earlier era, here’s a charming, perky ode to the bird by Nelson Pinedo and band. Pinedo (1928-2016) was a renowned Colombian singer known as "El Almirante del Ritmo" (The Admiral of Rhythm). He achieved widespread fame in South America, from Cuba to Venezuela, particularly for his five-year stint with the Cuban ensemble Sonora Matancera starting in 1954, where he popularised Colombian rhythms like cumbia and porro.
So let’s drink to Pinado and company. And appropriately, here’s the tequila brand that uses the hummingbird logo:
Zumbador tequila
So then, any further zumbador, or indeed hummingbird examples flying up from your own music library? Feel free also to share anything related whether in music or wider culture, such as from film, art, or other contexts, in comments below.
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