Welcome to the inaugural post of the Salsaddiction music blog. The purpose of this blog is to
[list style=”gear”]- Let you know about some of the songs you will hear on Thursday nights at On The Rocks
- Highlight Latin artists/bands
- Provide some background about different types of Latin music
[/list]
Ultimately, it is my hope that you find the blog useful in expanding the list of Latin songs you enjoy, for listening and for dancing to.
October Playlist Highlights
|
Song |
|
Artist |
Category |
Origin |
| Comunícate |  |
Manolito y Su Trabuco | Salsa | Cuba |
| La Cara De Salir Pa Andar | |
Maykel Blanco | Salsa | Cuba |
| Ay Valeria | |
Ricardo Lemvo | Salsa | Congo/Los Angeles |
| Me Liberé | |
El Gran Combo | Salsa | Puerto Rico |
| Rompecabezas | |
Willy Chirino | Salsa | Cuba/Miami |
| Pleasure Town | |
Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra | Salsa | USA |
| Cuando Volveras | |
Aventura | Bachata | USA |
| Te Regalo El Mar | |
Frank Reyes | Bachata | Pureto Rico |
| Ella es Tan Bella | |
Rikarena | Merengue | Dominican Republic |
| Titiriti | Calo Pascoal | Kizomba | Angola |
Salsa Bands Old and New
- One of the foremost Cuban bands, Los Van Van (The Go-Go’s) has been around since the early 1970’s. Their music draws from a range of musical styles both Cuban and non-Cuban. Created and led by bassist Juan Formell, it was one of the first bands to introduce among other things, electric base, electric guitar and a drum kit to Cuban son. Formell called this new sound “songo”, which is one of the influences for modern day timba. Songs by Los Van Van that you may hear at OTR include “Temba, Tumba, Timba” and “Me Mantengo”.
- New salsa bands come on the scene all the time and I don’t claim to know much about most of them. However, I did stumble upon a group out of New York called the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra. Identified by their website as a modern Salsa Dura band their sound is definitely unique. There are a few things I really like about them, the first being that the lead singer is female, which is not common in salsa. Second, many of their songs are covers of non-Latin bands (Arcade Fire, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc.). Third, some of their lyrics are in English. As my Spanish is very limited there are plenty of salsa songs that I really like and yet have no idea what the songs are about. To fully appreciate a song it helps to understand what the artist is saying.
Questions, feedback, or song requests send me an email.
Hasta la proxima
