MIAMI HERALD: After travels, Bachaco happy to be home

A Miami band is coming home — and its members couldn’t be happier. “There is no place like home, and that place is here, Miami,” said Edilberto “Eddy” Morillo, 27, lead vocalist of Bachaco. “The people, our friends, our family, our fans, the food, the weather, the culture — it is the closest thing to paradise.” Bachaco, which performs Thursday at Bougainvillea’s Old Florida Tavern, has brought its reggae, rock and Latin roots music to many countries, from Canada to Argentina, and has shared the stage with such artists as Stephen Marley and the Marley Brothers, Gondwana from Chile, Natiruts from Brazil and Cultura Profética from Puerto Rico. This year alone the band has performed in more than 50 cities. The band itself is a melting pot. All the members grew up in Miami, with families from Venezuela, Jamaica, Chile, Puerto Rico and Cuba. Bachaco gets its name, Morillo says, from a leaf-cutter ant from the Amazon Rainforest. “The