Re: slightly OT: Buena Vista Social Club

From: aspeitia axel arturo barcelo (abarcelo@indiana.edu)
Date: Tue Dec 12 2000 - 17:51:17 CET

  • Next message: Kerr, Jim: "Completely off topic - sunshine and AJ in January. Any suggestion s?"

    I know I am really asking to be flamed by this, but. . .

    On Thu, 7 Dec 2000, Stimp wrote:

    > Of course, mindless drivel from pop drecks like the Crespos,
    > Martin's, Lopez's, and Marc Anthony's also crawled out of the collective
    > woodwork, but we won't go there (yeah, I think they suck, but that's
    > just my opinion).

    It is very unfair to put together such a heterogenous list of Latin
    crossover artists as Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and the
    Crespo guy whose firts name I do not remember. Except from Miss Lopez, who
    is mainly an actress, they all have more or less long careers in Latin
    music and the crossover music that most middle Americans can enjoy today
    (smirk) is indeed a pop -ie watered down- version miles away from Cuba.
    But if you look carefully to, for example, Marc Anthony's older catalog,
    you will find some first class Salsa, indeed. As good as Buena Vista or
    Afro Cuba All Stars. But it is SALSA indeed, not cuban Son (even though
    they used to be the same and Celia Cruz still claims that they are the
    same, they are NOT, at least not anymore). Salsa developed in the USA with
    more American jazz influence than its Cuban counterpart. Of course, Buena
    Vista and the like are bands that play son the old style, i.e. the stye
    than influenced American music, Jazz and Salsa back in the days of old
    Havana and Batista (argh!!!) That is why it sounds more familiar to
    American ears (specially people familiar to Jazz and Latin Jazz, instead
    of, say, Salsa) that current Cuban son, like Los Van Van (whom I jsut
    ctached live again last week and blew me away AGAIN!!!).

    Hope i did not banter too much

    namaste
    axel



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Dec 12 2000 - 18:13:16 CET