Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Los Muñequitos de Matanzas: Cántalo pero Bailalo, Part 1
This is from a TV program, presumably Cuban, I have on VHS, probably from the 80's.
Los Muñequitos play and then they are interviewed briefly. I will be posting it in parts.
A beautiful production, well directed, well lit, and they are in their prime. Does anyone know the name of the maruga player here? And what happened to him?
I have a higher-quality file I can put up for download if anyone is interested. The videos don't seem to be getting too many downloads, so let me know.
UPDATE: The HQ mp4 Video (94MB)has been uploaded to rapidshare.com.
Yoruba Andabo: "Tiembla la Tierra"
I am finally getting around to digitizing some of my VHS rumba tapes. This is a nice tune by Yoruba Andabo, back when they had Calixto Callava and Fariñas in the lineup.
Terrific dancing in this one too, really accentuated the importance of the facial expression! The tune is "Tiembla la Tierra" by Calixto Callava himself.
Where are you going, Mulato,
With that cajón?
I'm going to Pancho´s house,
the rumba has already started...
Every time you play the cajón,
the girls all dance
Even the palm tree sways in the breeze,
and the Earth trembles...
Click here to download a higher-quality (64MB) mp4 of this clip.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Essential rumba CD: "Coro Folklórico Cubano...en un solar habanero"
If you are serious about rumba, you need this CD. Features the great Guillermo "El Negro" Triana on vocals, as well as a couple of great female vocalists, not that common in rumba these days. Musically, it covers alot of ground, and covers it very well. Besides the usual yambú, columbia, guaguancó, there are tracks of Abakuá, Conga and Comparsa, Cantos Espiritistas, and even a Coro de Clave performed with the rarely heard "violas" or stringless banjo-type things. In its scope it kind of reminds me of Goyo's "La rumba es cubana," but as good as Goyo's record is, I like this one better, it sounds more like a cohesive group. The CD came out in 2002 and is now hard to find, but is popping up here and there, and there are even a few copies now at Amazon.
I bought it when it first came out and it had 20 tracks. I notice the new copies have a different order and only 16 tracks. I have put the 4 missing ones up at rapidshare.com. They are:
Diana Habanera
Columbia en Bomba
Guaguancó Sabroso
Hola
Click here to download the 4 missing tracks.
I had posted this sample track "Chambeleque" earlier when testing out the streaming method, here it is again:
(Another reason you want to get this CD is that it won the 2001 Cubadisco award for best liner notes.)
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Link Renewed: "Cajones Bullangueros" by Yoruba Andabo
Bailando guaguancó: Raices Habaneras
Frank Bell and Xiomara Rodriguez showing us how it's done.
Video shot at Esquina Habanera, Union City, NJ, 2002.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Alberto Romero Díaz: "Ibaé"
When I heard about Alberto's passing back in August, I remembered this footage of him I shot at the old Esquina Habanera in New Jersey. I was just now able to upload it. Enjoy his "Cantar Maravilloso"...
You can download this video from rapidshare.de.(89.3MB)