La Tona

Guatemalan band, formed on January 28, 1994 by Ernesto Arredondo “Neco” on vocals, Germánico Barrios on guitar and Alexis Cerezo Blandón on drums. On the first album, Alejandro Hernández “Alejo” would participate on bass and later Mario Flores would join the band to replace him.

According to Neco, it all started when he met Alexis in college (while studying Archeology at the University of San Carlos de Guatemala), with whom he had many things in common. Part of this coexistence was born out of a passion for music. That is how the idea of forming a band came up and with it their first song called “La Rola”.

After a year of having started as a band, they recorded their first album in 1995 with Primera Generación Records. Having as producer the famous Giacomo Buonafina, they began to form the basis of what would become the Guatemalan rock of the nineties. The songs of this record became more and more famous to such an extent that they started to be played in the local radio stations.
The name “La Tona” came about when they were on their way to their first concert and the band still didn't have an official name, so when they passed by a bar called “La Tuna” they decided that “La Tona” would be a good name.

At the same time, the word “Tona” is derived from Nahuatl and means “sun”. It represents energy and is part of the Mesoamerican culture and the band's culture. Over the years, they have added as the band's logo a Mayan Glyph: “Tun” which is the stone or numerical quantity found in the Mayan calendar.

One of the most important concerts of the band's beginnings was the famous “Libertad de Expresión, Ya!” in 1994, in which they shared the stage with bands that were also starting out, such as Bohemia Suburbana, Fábulas Áticas and Viernes Verde, among others. They have shared the stage with international bands such as Adrenalina, Revolver Azul, Diablos Negros, Maldita Vecindad and Los Hijos del Quinto Patio, among others. They have taken breaks trying to combine their work with their family life, as well as with music.