In the USA

Jibaro music

In the USA

In the USA

In the USA

In the USA

There's something inherently wrong about an anthology of Puerto Rican salsa that fails to include the genre's most notable exponents—namely, El Gran Combo and La Sonora Ponceña. Fortunately, this otherwise worthy entry in the excellent Rough Guide series makes up for that near-fatal omission by including a number of legendary Puerto Rican expatriates. The expected tracks by Eddie Palmieri (a recent number from the pianist's revamped La Perfecta reunion) and Tito Puente (the joyful Latin jazz nugget "Espresso Por Favor") are complemented with tunes by lesser-known but equally important artists, from timbalero Manny Oquendo and Libre (the orgiastic dance jam "Qué Humanidad") to the very best salsa singer of all times, the late Héctor Lavoé, joined here by partner in crime Willie Colón on the smoldering "Qué Bien Te Ves" and the fatalistic "Todo Tiene Su Final." Reaching out beyond the confines of salsa, the compilation devotes a handful of songs to the bomba and the plena, Puerto Rico's infectious--and achingly beautiful-- folkloric genres. --Ernesto Lechner

In the USA