Never too late: Felipe Staiti’s solo album rocks

With a new album recently out from Amandititita and new albums to be released by Julieta Venegas and Enrique Bunbury this spring, La Cumbaimbera takes this opportunity to hop back on the blog and spotlight Felipe Staiti’s solo album, which was released last September.

Most know Staiti as the guitarist from Los Enanitos Verdes. No, Felipe has not deflected from Los Enanitos (they did, however, recently swap out Daniel Piccolo, the original baterista, for new dummer Jota Morelli). During the Enanitos’ current 4-year recording hiatus, Staiti recorded his solo project titled after his band Felipe Staiti Trio. The trio, as it turns out, is more of a quartet, as it features Felipe guitar and vocals, Felipe’s long-time friend Gerardo Lucero on bass, and both of Felipe’s sons – Natalio on drums and Juan Pablo as the “invitado” that appears to have a regular role as rhythm guitarist in the band.

The album’s songs are mostly instrumental, with Felipe performing vocals on the three tracks with lyrics. Some songs were recorded years ago while others are new. And while some, like the single “Buenos Días” which aired on Argentine radio, display the familiar melodic pop-rock flavor of Los Enanitos, others, such as the aptly titled “Toro Salvaje” offer a peek at the heavy rocker that Felipe is at heart. Also indicative of Felipe’s personal gustos, is the visual aesthetic of the video for the track “Leviatán.” (Enanitos fans may recall the spooky green lady that was featured as cover art for Néctar).



Not only is Felipe one of the best guitarists in Latin America, he is, as far as I can tell, simply a great guy. He still lives in the city he was raised in. He has responded personally to the MySpae messages I have sent him (yes, I confess – but look how it turned out!). And in between Los Enanitos’ international tours, Felipe passes the time by hopping on stage at venues in his hometown of Mendoza, Argentina and rocking out with his sons. If only all famous artists had his ability to remain true to the music, their family, their roots, and their fans.

Now playing - the latest from Jaguares, Babasonicos, and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

La Cumbaimbera shares a bit about her most recent acquisitions:

45 (Sept 2008) – Jaguares – If 45 were a painting it’d be hanging in a museo madrileño between a Picasso and a Goya. Exhibiting the same obsession with pain and fragmentation as well as with possibilities for redemption, 45 takes us back to the Jagaures of old. Saúl Hernández’ newest material picks up where El Equilibrio… (the original Jaguares collection) left off, that is, soaking in contemplative moodiness and dark sentiments. With its floating musical interludes, raucous guitar action, and even piano and orchestral arrangements, 45’s real distinguishing feature is that it’s just plain good. So good, in fact, that it hasn’t and won’t be getting any mainstream radio play. But who cares? After all, it’s art.


"Lobo" - Jaguares



Mucho (May 2008) – Babasonicos – Compared to Jaguares, Babasonicos definitely falls on the easy listening side of the rock spectrum. Part electronica, part Hombres G, part classic rock-and-roll, Mucho tackles it all with a good dose of pop sensibility. With this album Babasonicos achieves what Mana seems bent on avoiding, that is, delivering a collection that is tasty and at the same time textured. With its lighthearted musical approach, Mucho will leave you feeling like even your momentos mas rabiosos are something to sing about.


"Pijamas" - Babasonicos



La Luz del Ritmo (Nov 2008) – Los Fabulsoos Cadillacs – A more appropriate name for this album would be “El Buffet de los Ritmos.” Listening to this CD gave me visions of everyone from John Travolta to Gloria Estefan. Disco, salsa, love ballads…you name it, La Luz del Ritmo does it. About half of the material is remakes of previous Fabulosos tunes, including a version of “Mal Bicho” complete with scratching and a funkdafied bass line. There are also (bilingual) covers of “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and “Wake Up and Make Love With Me.” The most intriguing track, “Condenaditos” is aptly described as a “Nueva Orleans Funeral Pop.” And…wait…is that Los Pibes Chorros I hear? Nope. It’s just Vicentico praying un “Padre Nuestro” a lo Fabuloso.


"Padre Nuestro" - Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

¡Fuga! celebrates new CD and bids goodbye to the Bay

“Si vas a ser un ritmo, que sea peligroso” sings the opening track of Fuga’s new album Relatos Rebeldes. Listening to Fuga play live Friday night at Slim’s in San Francisco, I wondered, which ritmo are they referring to? Fuga has a rhythm all their own. But is it ska? Mambo? Cumbia? Whatever you call it, Fuga’s rhythms are infectious, danceable, and, as the CD title indicates, rebeldes.

I first caught up with Fuga four years ago when, recently relocated from Tejas, they opened for Quetzal at La Peña in Berkeley. I appreciated the fact that they had a female the lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist (Tania Rodriguez) and enamored by the way co-vocalist Kiko Rodriguez’s head bobbed around oh-so-adorably whenever he laid down those irresistible accordion riffs. Add to that that los Rodriguez are, yes, brother and sister (I love family acts!), and I was ready to purchase the first CD Desde La Frontera then and there.

As all good musicians should, Fuga has matured during their short Bay Area stay. As they set off now to tour Relatos Rebeldes and then to settle in a yet undisclosed new location, they take with them a fuller sound and more profound lyrical content. Their repertoire of new songs has no doubt been influenced by their time in the Bay, as evidenced by the song “Blvd Internacional,” a tribute to the working class immigrant communities who live and work along the Oakland strip. The song is characteristic of Fuga - minor tones that bear witness to the heavy realities of the borderlands, a beat that puts your feet into action, and lyrics that put your actions into motion.


"Blvd. Internacional" - ¡Fuga!

My friends, I will tell you about a famous boulevard
A street of good and bad reputation, it’s norotious and everyone knows
It’s where everyone gathers to look for work
It’s called International Boulevard…

Poverty, wealth, sadness, joy
I earned it all, I lost it all that day
but this rhythm is vibrant and full of sound
and look how good this outdoor dance is getting..."
(translation by Fuga)

Also playing Friday night were South Bay tropicalistas La Colectiva and La Misión’s very own “bilingual punk with horns” a.k.a. La Plebe. While La Colectiva warmed up the dance floor with traditional salsa, cumbia and vallenato, La Plebe got the mosh pit going with their ska-influenced punk revolucionario and a chorus of “¡pinche frontera!” Both bands gave solid performances, and Fuga brought it all home with the Rodriguez siblings sporting pachuco hats while alternating between cumbia induced booty-swinging and punk-style on-stage jumping. By the end of the 3-hr show, I was exhausted, exhilarated, and once again eager to stop by the merch table to drop an hour’s wage’s on the new CD.

If you’re reading this and you’re not from the bay Area, make sure to catch ¡Fuga! when they come through your town.

pinche u.s. government, stealing from us again

mierda. mierda. mierda. this makes my stomach turn...

...the Border Patrol now has migracorridos that sing of the danger immigrants face when crossing the border illegally...What Mexican listeners don't know is that the migracorridos are the U.S. government's latest effort to convince migrants to stay home.

: san antonio express-news

foto : sf chronicle

it's not enough apparently to steal our land and our labor. also now our music.

not enough to build a 3-tiered fence, extend it all the way into the ocean, put floodlights and barbed wire on it, and set armed men and dogs to guard it. not enough to enact policies that separate families, that force transnational workers to cross further into the desert where they are more likely to die. no, the migra has to try to disguise state propaganda as popular music and infiltrate the mexican radio airwaves as well. but a song cannot go up against the desire to feed a family... a todos los inmigrantes: que dios los proteja en el camino...

culture is a weapon (thank you, amilcar cabral). time for us to use it against them. ¡la tierra es para quien la trabaja!


**

and now for some corridos de verdad (as opposed to the fake migra-sponsored variety)...

here is amparo ochoa's version of a famous corrido which dates from the days of the mexican revolution:

adelita : amparo ochoa



victor jara (chileno) had such an affection for the corrido that he recorded a mexican revolution one too:

el corrido de pancho villa : victor jara



also here is the obligatory narco-corrido, perfected by los tucanes:

niño de oro : los tucanas de tijuana



and, of course, any proper discussion of these songs should include the beloved corridos of los tigres del norte. and since it's awhile since i posted any rock en español, here are 3 corridos from the tributo a los tigres del norte album, a great compilation of roqueros covering tigres songs.

la tumba falsa : ely guerra



el circo : maldita vecindad



contrabando y traición : la lupita



these lines are from el circo, about political corruption in mexico & the pri party/salinas family despotism. i think they also work for the above-mentioned migra scheme. que se vayan a la chingada esos running dogs.


pura tranza. puro circo. pura farsa.
la misma tranza, la misma farsa, es pura tranza, la misma farsa
pura pura tranza, puro puro circo, pura pura pura pura farsa!

A mommy-to-be rediscovers Andrea Echeverrí

There is something bumping around in La Cumbiambera’s belly, and it’s not New Years tamales. When I discovered I was pregnant a couple of months ago, I decided to whip out Andrea Echeverri’s self-titled 2005 solo album, which she dedicated to her daughter Milagros. I purchased this album new when it first came out and liked it, but now my appreciation of the album is growing right along with my waistline.

Lyrically, this album offers a refreshing alternative to the tortured songs about unrequited love that saturate most popular music. The songs are all about fulfillment, the type of fulfillment that only a profound love—such as that of parent to child—can provide. Apparently, the album was also inspired by Echeverri’s amorous relationship with her partner, but in many songs the line between amorous and filial love is blurred. This may sound creepy; however, the sexuality expressed in Echeverrí’s lyrics is nothing more than a celebration of body and soul, of body as a celebration of soul, whether that soul is manifested through a mature love for a partner or a spontaneous love for a child. Here the female body is not a sexual object but instead a source of power, knowledge, and inspiration.

Musically, the album is a treat. It is easy to listen to and features the folk-pop sounds characteristic of Echeverrí without being sappy. One of my favorite tracks is Lactochampeta, which is a satire of the sexually explicit Columbian musical genre champeta, and as you can guess, the song is about breastfeeding. The explicit lyrics (“chúpatela tetita, tómatela lechita, así, así, durito, y con ritmo”) are set to an infectiously rhythmic tune that mimics the actual rhythms of a breastfeeding baby (sucksucksuck. breath. sucksucksucksuck. breath.) Other favorites are those with audibly latinoamericano influences such as “A Eme O” (see video), a folkbachata of sorts, and “Imán” which listens like a son jalisence with a spirit appropriate for a pre-school sing-a-long.

There are also a couple of blusesy tracks like this one:


“Ya yo no” – Andrea Echeverrí

In short, the album is a collection of lullabies for grown-ups, sans the sleepy effect. Echeverrí’s songs relax and uplift. They are a reminder of the best possibilities of love. They celebrate life and femininity is ways that are at once tender and empowering. And, in this historical moment in which so many of the world’s mothers are separated from their children or are unable to provide for them due to crimes of the state, this album infuses La Cumbaimbera with a sense of purpose, and of course, makes me shed a tear.

Enrique Bunbury returns to the solo life with Hellville de Luxe

Released in September, the latest studio album from the ex-vocalista de los Héroes del Silencio marks, as some critics have written, Enrique Bunbury’s return to rock ‘n’ roll. It's true. The first thing La Cumbiambera noticed about Hellville de Luxe is that the album features lots and lots of guitars. Electric, acoustic, steel—you name it, they all feature prominently in Hellville. The global instrumentation of some previous Bunbury albums has been set aside here, although the pulse of Cuban rhythms can still be felt in tracks such as “Porque las cosas cambian” and “Inrremediablemente cotidiano.” Otherwise, what you’ll find in this album is a collection of songs whose sounds range from to the electrified urgency of “Brujías Para El Dolor” to the folksy saunter of the closing track “Aqui.”

The lyrics represent the best of Bunbury, with some tracks focusing on the timeless themes of amor y desamor, while other tracks take a broader view of life’s twists and turns. All of the songs are penned with a fresh dose of poesía-a-la-Bunbury:


“Docientos huesos y un collar de calaveras”

“Tus docientos huesos y un collar de calaveras
para que sepa volver y volverte a encontrar...
Cada palabra tuya cual imagen de bota
y la lluvia cayendo por el borde de mi sombrero
y empapandote todita en tu camiseta.
Un buen verso quizá sea el lado valiente de un cobarde…
Mis pensamientos paralizan mi voluntad
y tú regando mi jardín un día de lluvia torrencial
la mejor compañia para estados de animo peligrosos…
Y yo que he dormido a tu lado puedo afirmar
que hasta las pequeñas discusiones
fueron contigo algo estupendo…”

__

“Your two hundred bones and a necklace of skulls
so that I might know how to return and find you again...
Each of your words like the image of a boot
and the rain falling from the edge of my hat
and entirely moistening your shirt.
A good verse might be the brave side of a coward…
My thoughts paralyze my will
and you, watering my garden on the day of a torrential rain,
the best company for a dangerous mood…
And I who have slept at your side can affirm
that even the smallest arguments
were with you something stupendous…”

__

With the Héroes del Silencio renuion tour just a year behind him, Bunbury wasted no time in taking his new album to the road and, having completed the Spanish leg of the tour, will be heading this way for his U.S./Mexico tour beginning in February. He’ll make one California stop in L.A. (although La Cumbiambera dreams of one day being able to add a Bunbury concert date to our very own Bay Area concert calendar).

As far as packaging, Bunbury’s team has gone for a country western theme, complete with a sepia toned album cover and publicity materials in which he sports not a guitar but a rifle. La Cumbiambera finds this both strange (there is no old west in Spain) and annoying given the imperialist origins of such imagery.

Nevertheless, La Cumbiambera remains a diehard fan of Bunbury’s musical versatility and lyrical genius. As Bunbury puts it—“No importa que hagas rock o rumba de Barcelona. El futuro no es la música electronica o el mestizaje. El futuro es hacer una buena puta canción.”

With Hellville de Luxe, Bunbury has done just that.

Aterciopelados keeps it flowing with Río

I finally got around to downloading the new Aterciopelados album Rio. The album contains thirteen songs that feature familiar Atercios sounds (a mixture of rock, electronic, and folk beats) as well as the predictable Atercios themes of peace, love, and Mother Earth. But lest one forget what it takes for peace and love to flourish on the planet, the eighth track, entitled “Bandera,” offers a reminder that the world’s social and spiritual ills exist within a political context.

"Bandera" - Los Aterciopelados

Quién dice cuál es la bandera que sobre un pedazo de tierra ondea
Quién decide quien tiene el poder de limitar mi caminar, dime quién

Quién dijo que un trozo de tela encierra las puertas y las fronteras
Quién me limita este mi planeta si soy tercermundista y empaco mis maletas

Cómo te vas a aprovechar de que no tengo papeles, de que soy ilegal
Mi trabajo humilde y tenaz vale lo mismo que el tuyo o quizá mas

(Who says which flag will wave over a piece of earth
Who decides who has the power to limit my path, tell me who
Who said that a piece of cloth closes the doors and the borders
Who limits this, my planet, if I’m from the third world and I pack my bags
How are you going to take advantage of the fact that I don’t have papers, that I’m illegal
My humble and tenacious work is worth the same as yours or perhaps more...)

Instead of being just another anti-border song (can there ever be enough?), "Bandera" is characterized by los Atercios’ global perspective. It’s refreshing to hear an anti-border song in a woman’s voice and in Andrea Echeverri’s root-deep tones no-less. It’s also a grounding listen in the face of this disturbing bit of news.

In case you haven’t seen it yet, here is the video from the album’s title song. The images of Echeverrí pregnant, the swimming baby, and the flow of city traffic give the impression that this song is not just about clean water but is a metaphor for larger-scale enfermedades both social and spiritual as well as structural. Rezos para el río indeed.

So many albums, so little wireless access

Yes, folks, I am currently in a limited wireless access situation, which means that I have totally L-A-G-G-G-E-D on downloading the slew of new albums by some of my favorite artists. Some of these albums I know I need to have (Julieta’s Unplugged) and others I am curious about (Beto Cuevas) and others are yet to be released (Aterciopelados). But the bottom line is, if you can get to them before me, you should. Here they are, my wishlist:

Julieta Venegas - MTV Unplugged (released in June)
Jaguares - 45 (released Sept 2)
Enrique Bunbury - Hellville De Luxe (released Sept 30 in Spain)
Beto Cuevas - Miedo Escénico (released Sept 30)
Volumen Cero - I Can See the Brite spot (released Oct 7)
Aterciopelados - Río (release date Oct 21)

In the meantime, check out Café Tacvba’s collaboration with Calle 13 on “No Hay Nadie Como Tú.” Like the song, enjoy the video, LOVE the Tacubos plunking and strumming away on their acoustic instruments as they groove!