Eduardo «Lalo» Ibeas, the longtime voice of Chancho en Piedra, is opening a new solo chapter: on Thursday, June 18, 2026, he released «Lo Comido y Lo Bailado (Me Van a Echar),» the first track from his project named Pascual Arroyo. Here is what this turn toward Chilean popular music is all about.

From funk-rock to popular dance music

For more than three decades, Ibeas was one of the public faces of Chile’s funk-rock scene alongside Chancho en Piedra, a band founded in 1994. His new venture takes a different direction: cumbia, ranchera and roots-driven popular sounds crossed with humor. The musician himself explained that he wanted to «bring back a bit of Chilean popular and humorous music» and blend it with rhythms made to get people moving. The drive, he said, comes from a simple motivation: «I feel there’s a lack of joy and humor in this world.»

Why a separate project

Rather than repeat the formula that made him famous, Ibeas chose to set a creative distance. «I didn’t want to do something too similar, because that’s what Chancho is for,» he said when describing the spirit of Pascual Arroyo. The idea is for this alter ego to work as a space of its own, where cumbia and ranchera can coexist with the playfulness that has always run through his career, free from comparisons with his original band.

What about Chancho en Piedra?

This new chapter does not mean a breakup. According to the musician, the group is on pause after three decades on the road, and the decision stems from a wish to explore personal projects rather than from internal conflict. The members stay in touch and even keep an active WhatsApp group. On a possible reunion, Ibeas was cautious but left the door open: he acknowledged that «it’s not the time yet,» leaving the possibility on the table for the future.

A bet on local identity

The launch of Pascual Arroyo adds to a fertile stretch for Chilean music, marked by artists returning to the roots of the national songbook. Ibeas’s proposal confirms that the local scene keeps reinventing itself, blending traditional genres with a fresh outlook and an unmistakably Chilean stamp. The single is already available on YouTube and digital platforms.

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Source: 24horas.cl.