Caliente y Picante: Latin Heat from Snap Crackle and Pop

Here on the South Coast of England it has rained non-stop for days and days.  This has given me the perfect opportunity to delve into the now extensive Snap Crackle & Pop archive and put together this mix of Afro-Latin sounds.  These tropical rhythms sound wonderful under our leaden skies.

Caliente y Picante by Mr Tear on Mixcloud

Tracklist:

01 Vou Chorar - Lucio Alves
02 Antonico - Elza Soares & Miltinho
03 Domingo No Parque - Gilberto Gil
04 La Estraordinaria - Qrquesta Henry Castro, Antonio Gonzalez y D'Argil
05 Ligia - Edmundo Arias y su Orquesta
06 Caracoli - Lucho Bermudez y su Orquesta
07 Grito Parrandero - Los Corraleros de Majagual
08 Juventud Flaca Y Loca - Lisandra Meza y su Conjunto
09 Amanciend - Adolfo Echeverria
10 Rodeado de Pillos - Lisandro Meza y su Conjunto
11 Tobaco y Ron - Orquesta la Sabrosa
12 Felix Llego - Felix Del Rosario y Sus Magos Del Ritmos
13 Monina y Ramon - Rafi Jr Y La Diferente
14 Oiga Mi Guaguanco - Orchestra Harlow
15 Los Hermanos - Elis Regina

Get it HERE.

Matilde Diaz - 25 Años

"Again quite recently...I went with a friend one Sunday to the 'flea market' at Saint-Ouen (I go there often, in search of those objects that can be found nowhere else, outmoded, fragmented, useless, almost incomprehensible, perverse in short, in the sense that I give to the word, and that I like)" Andre Breton, Nadja

This piece of black vinyl, carrier of sounds and ideas, was picked up recently at a local flea market, certainly I would not have found it anywhere else.

Matilde Diaz was a Colombian singer, and the wife of band leader, Lucho Bermudez, who is band leader on a number of the tracks on this LP.  With her husband, Matilde Diaz was partly responsible for spreading Colombian music, and particularly the Cumbia rhythm, across the continent.


Tracklist:

01 Carmen de Bolivar
02 San Fernando
03 Salsipuedes
04 La Muerte de Pedro Castro
05 Mosaico
06 El
07 Santa Maria Tiene Tren
08 Rie
09 Viva la Fiesta - Ay Mi Llanura
10 El Secreto de Mi Voz

Get it HERE.

Lisandro Meza y su Conjunto - Mamando Gallo (1988)

Its been far too long!  I fear I have neglected this little corner of cyberspace over the past few weeks - I've been far too busy to post anything.  By way of apology, please accept this storming selection of Columbian party tunes from one of the key figures in the evolution of the modern cumbia sound.

Lisandro Meza has been involved in the Columbian music scene since the late '50s and was a founding member of Los Corraleros de Majagual, one of the country's most popular groups of the '60s.  He left that group to forge a career playing his accordian and singing songs for the hard-living farm workers and ranchers of rural Columbia. This is exciting stuff I'm sure you'll agree:



Tracklist:

01 Rodeado de Pillos
02 Amor Lindo
03 Mamando Gallo
04 Rin Rin
05 Esta Navidad
06 Tutaramacara
07 Mi Companera
08 Jilguerito
09 Azulito Bonito
10 Aguila Del Ecuador

Get it HERE.

Bailables de Todos los Años Vol. 2 - Various Artists (1978)

 

This is a great compilation of vintage Columbian dance music. I think most of the tracks were recorded in the '50s and '60s and they're hot! 



While you're here, check out this great footage of Lisandro Meza with a fantastic band.  Colombian country style:

Tracklist:

01 Currucuteando - Ramon Ropain y su Combo

02 La Muy Indigna - Caballito y su Conjunto

03 El Huerfaito - Bovea y sus Vellenatos

04 Juventud Flaca Y Loca - Lisandra Meza y su Conjunto

05 El Boga Y El Bote - Penaranda y su Conjunto

06 La Mujer de Roberto - Don Americo y sus Caribes

07 En San Filipe - Orquesta de Tomas Burbano

08 Pomponio - Julio Torres y Los Alegres Vallenatos

09 Ligia - Edmundo Arias y su Orquesta

10 La Mujer de Tono - Penaranda y su Conjunto

11 Cero Treinta Y Nueve - Bovea y sus Vallenatos

12 Cumbia Bonita - Ramon Ropain y su Combo

Get it HERE.

La Tabaquera - Various Artists

OK folks, here's another fantastic compilation of cumbias, gaitas and merengues from Colombia. If you enjoyed the Cumbiando! compilation i posted a few weeks ago then you'll love this.



Tracklist:

01     Antolin Y Su Combo Orense –     La Tabaquera        
02     Los Planetas –     La Estera        
03     Lisandro Mesa Y Su Conjunto –     La Chiva Ferrulitica        
04     Antolin Y Su Combo Orense –     Sonia        
05     Antolin Y Su Combo Orense –     Caballo Melao        
06     Conjunto Repauto –     La Pelea        
07     Conjunto Repauto –     Planchame E' Calzon        
08     Lisandro Mesa Y Su Conjunto –     El Pillao        
09     Antolin Y Su Combo Orense –     La Yeguaza        
10     Los Planetas –     La Hojita        
11     Lisandro Mesa Y Su Conjunto –     Marta Elena        
12     Antolin Y Su Combo Orense –     La Ciroma

Get it HERE.

Cumbiando - Various Artists (1966)

I can find no mention of this compilation album anywhere on the internet and in such cases I always welcome comments and contributions from those in the know.  What I get from a few listens to the music is that this is a lovely compilation of big and brassy South American pop-cumbia, so if that's your thing, here's a chance to grab something nice.

Here's a taste of what the album has to offer, Pepe Bustamante's 'El Guanaquito':

Tracklist:

01 Los Moonlights - Rosa Maria
02 Danny Chilean - Linda, Bailos Cumbia
03 Hnas Navarro y Orq. P. Beltran Ruiz - La Cumbia de Rosina
04 D. Guttierrez y Conj. Tropical - El Zapato de Rosina
05 J. Bedoya y su Conj. - El Globo
06 T. Camargo - El Pelequero
07 Luisin Landaez - La Banda Borracha
08 T. Camargo - Filosofito
09 Hnas. Navarro y Orq. Beltran Ruiz - Mira Que Coincidencia
10 Luis Landaez - Mira Que Coincidencia
11 Los Bambys - Por Arriba Y Por Abajo
12 P. Bustamante - El Guanaquito

Get it HERE.

Los Exitos de Lucho Bermudez y su Orquesta

This little gem was dug out of a pile of old records in a flea market a couple of months back. Lucho Bermudez was a Colombian clarinet player and band leader who blended local Colombian dance styles such as the cumbia and porro with the big band sound coming from the US. The result is a big, brassy and very danceable noise all pinned down by that heavy cumbia beat. The fabulous Soundway record label have just issued some of this fella's music on 7" which you can purchase here, and there's more lp's to download here and here.

Here's a sample of Lucho's itchy sound:


Tracklist:

01 Los Primos Sanchez
02 Mi Sahagun
03 Jalaito en Monteria
04 Cartagenerita
05 Marlene La Negrita
06 Caracoli
07 Hombre Al Agua
08 Palmar
09 Gaita de las Flores
10 Pacho Herrera

Get it HERE.

Qrquesta Henry Castro, Antonio Gonzalez y D'Argil - Chicharron de Chivo

It's a little difficult getting back into the swing of this blog posting business after such a long, accidental break. I have managed to pick up some wonderful vinyl during that time off so I hope to be quite busy here over coming weeks.

First up we have this lovely, crackly old record from a time when rock 'n' roll landed in Colombia. This is a weird and intriguing blend of American and Colombian styles which features a number of tracks designed for dancing the Twist. But with Cumbia and Porros stuff going on too. If that sounds like your bag then come grab a copy before they make it illegal.

Tracklist:

01 Munequita de Cristal
02 La Estraordinaria
03 Chicharron de Chivo
04 Gusano Peludo
05 Don Ramiro
06 San Andres
07 Carmen Cecilia
08 Las Palmitas
09 Luna de Miel
10 Rosa
11 Margarita
12 Que Linda

Get it HERE.

While we're all here and paying attention, I'd just like to draw your attention to a new blog which has been started by Tim Abdellah, who has regularly provided translations for some of the Moroccan and Arabic music I've posted here. Tim has decided to start to share some of the music he has collected whilst visiting Morocco, along with some of his knowledge about this music. Tim seems pretty versed in the Gnawa tradition0 (whilst I'm just a happy amateur), and his comments here have been consistently interesting and enlightening, so I for one am looking forward to more Moroccan music coming our way soon. The blog is called Moroccan Tape Stash and you can find it here:

http://moroccantapestash.blogspot.com/

Los Corraleros de Majagual - !Grito Parrandero! (1966)

This is some glorious, itchy Colombian dance music from way back in 1966 that I picked up at a boot sale a couple of weeks back. I'm just back from a few days in Marrakech and I thought I'd post this in the name of variety before the deluge of Morrocan music begins.

The album contains a song called 'My Burrito' - Ween have nurtured in me a love of songs about food, and this one is great.

Hope you enjoy!

Tracklist:

01 La Gustadera
02 Mi Sombrero Viejo
03 Grito Parrandero
04 La Vieja Pancha
05 No Como Eso
06 Al Ritmo Corralero
07 Rrrriapatopo
08 Swing Bailable
09 Mi Burrito
10 Merengue Bonito
11 El Carrito Viejo
12 La Gaviota

Get it HERE.

Mystery Melodisc Afro-Cuban Collection

I can't tell you much about this complilation album as I can't find anything about it anywhere on the internet. I can tell you that I was in two minds about whether or not to buy it, the lack of information anywhere on the sleeve or labels made me suspect it might be '70s easy listening faux-latin stuff, luckily that's not the case and what we seem to be treated to is a lovely collection of groovy Cuban 78s. And very good some of these songs are too. I can tell you that the version of The Peanut Vendor included here is a 1930s recording of the Havana Casino Orchestra, and Romantica Mujer is performed by Sexteto Tipico Habanera. Not that those names mean anything to me. More info would be greatly appreciated.

Tracklist:

01 Peanut Vendor
02 Babalu'
03 Chili Sauce
04 El Aguacero
05 Baionga
06 Baiao
07 India Inglesa
08 Tico Tico
09 Mi Cafetal
10 Brazil
11 Romantica Mujer
12 Maria Cristina

Get it HERE.

La Sonora Dinamita - !Mirala Como Va!

"...'drug effects' are manifest in many forms and are discernible across the body of culture in general, in the subjective movements of expressed thought, and in the objective consequences of culture's being on drugs in the first place - something reflected in all the cultural products and events, and the social and political practices engendered or orchestrated by them...As drugs are as ubiquitous to modern culture as they were to ancient and premodern cultures, just about any aspect of that culture is, at least in principle, approachable from the point of view of its articulations with or by drugs"

(D. Boothroyd - Culture on Drugs: Narco-Cultural Studies of High Modernity p2-5)

Today's album seems a million miles from the previous cumbias I posted back in September last year. Is it the sound of a people high on the profits of the cocaine industry? Clean and shiny, all shimmering surface and glittering smiles, this music could only have been made at the height of the era of neo-liberal economics and rough possessive individualism, when the city of Medellin was humming with the euphoria of easy money and the blood of the unfortunates caught in the crossfire.

A little like cocaine, this music is also fascinating and irresistable:

Tracklist:

01 Mirala Como Va
02 Se Acabo Mi Amor
03 El Morraito
04 El Ciclon
05 No Mi Digas Que No
06 Pa La Cumbia
07 La Suerte Para
08 El Cheveron
09 Maluca
10 Te Pille, Pilla
11 Que Viva el Amor
12 A Orillas Del Rio

Get it HERE.

La Maya Y Otros 15 Exitos Para Su Fiesta - Various Artists

Picked up this fabulous compilation of Colombian Musica Tropical at a local bootsale. Full of cumbias and porros by some of the country's best bandleaders, it's a thoroughly entertaining listen that evokes the excitement of the dancehalls and fiestas of urban Colombia in the '50s and '60s.

Tracklist:

01 La Maya - J. Nuncira Machado Y Su Orquesta
02 El Pelequero - Ramon Rupain Y Su Orquesta
03 Te Casas Con Ella - Rufo Guido Y Su Orquesta
04 Cojan El Hombre - Manuel Villenueva Y Su Orquesta
05 Boyo E' Yuca - Pedro Salcedo Y Su Orquesta
06 Nada - Carlos Roman Y Su Orquesta
07 La Diana - Cumbiamba Ritmo Baranoero
08 Bogota - J. Nuncira Machado Y Su Orquesta
09 La Pollera Colora - Pedro Salcedo Y Su Orquesta
10 O A - J. Nuncira Machado Y Su Orquesta
11 La Electrica - Manuel Villenueva Y Su Orquesta
12 Wellcome - Carlos Roman Y Su Orquesta
13 Falta la Plata - Rufo Guido Y Su Orquesta
14 Se Vold - Ramon Rupain Y Su Orquesta
15 Labriegos De Mi Tierra - Julio Ojito Y Su Orquesta Polonuevo
16 La Quebrada - Cumbiamba Ritmo Baranoero

Get it HERE.

Cumbia Cumbia - Various Artists (1989)

Tomorrow is the first birthday of SnapCrackleandPops! This is quite an achievement because I've usually got a short attention span. To celebrate we have this excellent compilation of slinky Colombia cumbias all originally released on the Discos Fuentes label between the '50s and the '80s. This is perfect dance music that combines hypnotic poly-rhythms and big fat basslines to get the body and mind moving.

Tracklist:

1. La Colegiala - Rodolfo Y Su Tipica RA 7

2. La Subienda - Romero, Gabriel

3. La Zenaida - Hernandez, Armand

4. Amanciendo - Echeverria, Adolfo

5. Navidad Negra - Laza, Pedro

6. Cumbia Cienaguera - Conjunto Tipico Vallenato

7. Tabaco Y Ron - Rodolfo Y Su Tipica RA 7

8. La Piragua - Romero, Gabriel

9. La Pollera Colora - Los Immortales

10. Se Me Perdio La Cadenita - La Sonora Dinamita

11. El Pescuador De Baru - Los Warahuaco

12. Cumbia Sampuesina - Conjunto Tipico Vallenato

Get it HERE.

And if you enjoyed this, then get yourself over to GHETTO BASSQUAKE to download an amazing mix of jaw dropping cumbia dubs.