Der Jesus mit’nem Knarre

Nina Hagen’s stepfather is German lyricist Wolf Biermann and while I was preparing a kind of reminder for Ché Guevara’s untimely departure, I noticed that Wolf Biermann has made his own version of the famous tribute song Hasta Siempre, Commandante Che Guevara after Carlos Puebla’s song. He made an adaptation of it with an odd wry aside at the end to mock the star quality and cult for the former revolutionary.

Wolf Biermann – Commandante Che Guevara
Carlos Puebla – Hasta siempre comandante Che Guevara
Compay Segundo + Victor Jara + Inti Illimani – Hasta Siempre Comandante
Buena Vista Social Club – Hasta Siempre Comandante Che Guevara

If you can’t get enough of this Cuban classic, there’s lots more of it on Best of both worlds.

In my mind I was preparing a kind of statement dealing the issue whether we should be happy or sad that Ché did not finish his self appointed mission, but I didn’t find the time to write it all down. It’s, as always, a bit of both, really.
Meanwhile I was also preparing a post about ‘revolutionary’ music from Cuba. During the late sixties and early seventies many Latino and Hispanic musicians from the Barrio and all over the US were involved in so-called Chicano Rock. After the success of Santana’s band there was a market and a climate for a fusion of rock with latin, bugaloo, soul jazz and some funk with revolutionary social themes. I learned about this kind of music, first trough Santana off course but later on by the many compilation albums which were released over the last years, like the ones on the Souljazz label.
It was a small surprise to learn only recently with the Si, Para Usted compilation that this kind of musical blend was also occurring on Cuba at the time. It actually makes sense really. The content and social dimension of the music reflects the spirit of Cuba in that era but the Cuban version has less rock in it (except for the Irakere track).

Juan Pablo Torres – Son a Propulsion
Irakere – Bacalao Con Pan
Grupo Monumental – Si, Para Usted
Juan Pablo Torres – Rompe Cocorioco
Grupo Los Yoyi – El Fino
Grupo De Experimentacion Sonora del ICAIC – Sondeando

Baile Mi Latino

Up until now I haven’t done much with this part of my site, even though I really like Latin music a lot. That’s why I decided to post this old set of compilations that I made a couple of years ago for some friends of mine. They wanted to throw in a Latin party but after a while they realised that they only had 2 cd’s to play which would become rather boring and embarrasing as the evening would unfold. That’s why I quickly made them a compilation. It's a three piece set and this is numero uno.

I still like these cd’s even though I couldn't find all the right tracks in their best outfit. The Bacalao con Pan from Irakere for instance is of a poor quality but I don’t have another version. I should find me one.

Alegre All Stars – Manteca
Celia Cruz – Contestacion de el Marinero
Ricardo Ray – Agurate
Caridad Hierrezuelo y el Conjunto Caney – Baile Usted Mi Son
Orquesta Harlow – El Malecon
Tito puente y Su Orquesta – Oye Mi Guaguanco
Tito puente y Su Orquesta – Mambo Tipico
La Lupe – Fever
Yma Sumac – Indian Carnival
Maria Teresa Vera y Su Conjunto – Eso No Es Na
Celina Gonzales – Mi Tiena Es Asi
Celia Cruz y Johnny Pacheco – Flor de Mayo
Tito Puente –Cual Es La Idea
Elena Burke y El Orquesta Reve – El Chala con Cha Cha
Celina Gonzales – Santa Barbara / Que Viva Chango
Orquesta Original de Manzanilla – Manzanillo
Eddie Palmieri – La Verdad
Benitez – Hey Girl
Irakere – Bacalao con Pan

Bajo Fondo Tango Club

Yo Soy Maria de Buenes Aires

My favourite Piazzolla, just as a reminder that I should take this section a bit more serious.

Astor Piazzolla & Milva - Yo Soy Maria

em progresso

Tanto tango

Starting on the wrong foot?

Who cares. This one's for Ann. There's a site with lots of tango music just waiting to be downloaded. It's called Ibiza's music. It features 4 volumes of Antología Del Tango Argentino and these are the links:

http://rapidshare.de/files/24251495/tanguer.part1.rar http://rapidshare.de/files/24265459/tanguer.part2.rar http://rapidshare.de/files/24269863/tanguer.part3.rar http://rapidshare.de/files/24277298/tanguer.part4.rar http://rapidshare.de/files/24281558/tanguer.part5.rar

The first post of this new section of the Out to Lunch blog dedicated to Latin music.

But what is Latin music actually?