Evil Eyes: Soneros de Verdad and "Ojos Malignos"

Our random tune for today is by Soneros de Verdad. The group's name means "Singers of Truth," and they call themselves the second generation of the Buena Vista Social Club, bridging the gap between the son cubano of 50-60 years ago with more modern sensibilities and original compositions. Fronted by Luis Frank Arias and Mayito Rivero, both international music award winners, the band also employs some other Cuban stars of the newer generation, giving a whole new sound layered on top of the old urban mixed with rural, son, jazz, and other genres. It's Cuba in one package. This song, Ojos Malignos, is from the album Luis Frank Presents Soneros de Verdad: A Buena Vista Barrio de la Habana (originally released in 2000, CD release in 2010).

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://sonerosdeverdad.com/bio?lang=en

Praise the Orisha: Marcus Portillo Dominguez and Group with "Kiri Nya Kiri Nya Agó/Eshu o Elegbara e"

Welcome to today's random tune, which was recorded way back in 1957 in Cuba! The song, consisting of mostly voices accompanied by some simple percussion, is called Kiri Nya Kiri Nya Agó/Eshu o Elegbara e (Song for Eleguá) and is performed by Marcus Portillo Domínguez and his group. They were field-recorded by Lydia Cabrera and Josefina Tarafa in 1957 just before Fidel Castro assumed control of Cuba and are part of a collection of music that records the music and religious customs of the the descendents of African slaves in Cuba. Unfortunately, there is no information on Marcus Portillo Dominguez, but the song is an invocation of Eleguá, an orisha or deity in the Santeria, Umbanda, Quimbanda, and Candomblé religions of Latin America and synonymous with Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára in the African Yoruba religion. He is the deity of roads that must grant approval for any ritual or ceremony, and he is said to hold the keys to the past, present and future in the road of life that we travel. You can find Kiri Nya Kiri Nya Agó/Eshu o Elegbara e (Song for Eleguá) on the 2003 album Havana & Matanzas, Cuba, Ca. 1957: Batá, Bembé, and Palo Songs from the Historic Recordings of Lydia Cabrera and Josefina Tarafa.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elegua; http://latino.si.edu/virtualgallery/sabor/NYexperience/SalsaMusic_historicalReference-Cabrera.htm

Innovation: Juan Formell y Los Van Van with "Chapeando"

Chapeando is the title of today's random tune. The performers are Juan Formell and Los Van Van. Los Van Van is considered the most well-known post-revolutionary Cuban musical group and Formell is one of the most important figures in contemporary Cuban music. Formell formed Los Van Van in 1969 after breaking with Orquesta Revé where he had been musical director. Los Van Van infused Cuban son with elements of North American pop to try to capture the imagination of Cuba's younger generation. And it worked as the band gained commercial popularity by shattering previous formulaic restrictions on Cuban music. The band continued to innovate through the years, introducing new instrumentation, harmonies and arrangements never before used in Cuban music. In the 80s, Formell added trombones and was the first Cuban group to use synthesizers and drum machines. The band launched the careers of many well known Cuban artists today. Los Van Van continues to perform despite the death of Formell in 2014. Chapeando can be found on their 2005 album of the same name.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Formell

The Homeland's Cry: The Buena Vista Social Club and "La Bayamesa"

Today's random tune is by the Buena Vista Social Club. The Buena Vista Social Club was the name of a club in Havana, Cuba where musicians met and performed together in the 1940s at a time when new Latin styles were being created. Juan de Marcos González and Ry Cooder assembled a number of those musicians that had played there and recorded them for a CD in 1997. After the release of the CD, they were invited to play as a full ensemble in Amsterdam where filmmaker Wim Wenders captured the performance on film and interspersed that footage with interviews of the musicians in a documentary called Buena Vista Social Club. The documentary went on to receive an Academy Award nomination, and made stars of the once forgotten musicians as well as reviving interest in Cuban music and Latin music in general. This song, La Bayamesa, is a criolla and patriotic song about a woman from the city of Bayamo who tears up at memories of old traditions and yet answers the call of her homeland when needed. This La Bayamesa is not the national anthem of Cuba, which has the same name. It can be found on the 1997 CD Buena Vista Social Club.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buena_Vista_Social_Club

Son and a Mischievous Woman: Puerto Plata and "Baracoa"

Puerto Plata brings us the random tune for today. The stage name of Dominican musician José Cobles, Puerto Plata's music and singing is reminiscent of guitar music heard in the Dominican Republic in the 1930s and 40s, before it was stigmatized by dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, who preferred accordion-heavy merengue tipico. By the 1960s, after Trujillo's assassination, Dominican guitar music began to develop into bachata. Plata does not play bachata, however, but a music closer in style to contemporary Cuba, even though it is inspired in the Dominican past. In addition, Plata's band features some of the Dominican Republic's finest musicians, such as guitar legends Edilio Paredes and Frank Mendez. This song, Baracoa, can be found on Plata's first internationally distributed solo CD, Mujer de Cabaret, released in 2007. Baracoa is a place name, and the singer is looking forward to listening to some son music there with a mischievous woman.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Plata_(musician)

Children of the Congo: Papa Noel and Papi Oviedo with "Bana Congo"

Today's random tune is called Bana Congo, and is performed by Papa Noel from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and by Papi Oviedo from Cuba. A guitarist, Papa Noel was once a member of François Luambo Makiadi's TPOK Jazz ensemble and got his unusual name due to his Christmas Day birthdate. Papi Oviedo was a tres player, and toured with the Buena Vista Social Club. He passed away in October of 2017. You can find Bana Congo on Papa Noel & Papi Oviedo's 2002 album Bana Congo, though we got it from the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music 2002.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_Noel_Nedule; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papi_Oviedo

Love and Betrayal: Trio Melodicos and "Perfidia"

Today's random tune is by Trio Melodicos, a Cuban trio that I couldn't find too much information on, save that they played classic love songs for a dollar at a famous brothel in Havana, where they were recorded by two Jewish guys who had fled the Nazis and ended up in Cuba. Trio Melodicos here sing a Latin classic song, called Perfidia, written by Mexican composer Alberto Dominguez. It is a song of love and betrayal, and can be found on the 2006 album The Lost Cuban Trios Of Casa Marina, and on the 2015 various artists compilation Putumayo Presents: Vintage Latino.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Cuban-Trios-Casa-Marina/dp/B002OS5F8S

Kiss Me Mama: Poncho Sanchez with Mongo Santamaria and "Bésamé Mamá"

Today's random song is from Mexican American conga player Poncho Sanchez and Cuban rumba quinto master Mongo Santamaria. Born in Laredo, Texas and raised in California, Sanchez took to Afro-Cuban music and bebop jazz. He originally was a guitarist and singer, and after teaching himself flute, drums and timbales, he settled on the conga as his instrument of choice. He has recorded 35 albums since 1980. Mongo Santamaria was an African-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist whose mix of R&B and Latin rhythms helped inspire the boogaloo of the 1960s. He also was a bandleader, whose bands featured the likes of Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, and it was during these times that he began to Afro-Cuban and African American music to great acclaim. This song, Bésamé Mamá, can be found on Poncho Sanchez's 1995 album Conga Blue, and on the various artists compilation CD Putumayo Presents: ¡Latino! ¡Latino! (1997).

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poncho_Sanchez; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongo_Santamar%C3%ADa

The Future Will Come to You: Arema Arega and "Ay"

Today's random tune is called Ay and is performed by Cuban singer-songwriter Arema Arega. Born in Voronezh, Russia to an Ethiopian father and a Cuban mother, Arega grew up in Cuba, discovering music at the age of 14. She currently supports herself with her music and doing illustrations and drawings for books and magazines - a skill she learned when she thought she wanted to be a painter. Her repertoire consists of over 200 songs, and once during a practice session in Havana's Plaza de Armas, she impressed Sting and gave him a CD. He said he'd be in touch, but later she realized she never gave him a way to contact her. However, her music is all over Havana's radios. She can play in styles ranging from soul to rap to trova, and she can sing in multiple languages, including English and French. A couple of years ago, Gilles Peterson found her and asked her to appear on his Cuban compilation album. Ay is from that album, called Gilles Peterson Presents Havana Cultura: Anthology, released in 2016. The song reminds us to live in the present, and not to worry about the future because the future will come to us.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://havana-club.com/en-ww/havana-cultura/arema-arega

Fahrenheit 456: Daymé Arocena and "El 456"

Today's random tune is performed by Daymé Arocena, an Afro-Cuban jazz singer from Havana who has been described by The Guardian as Cuba's finest young female singer. A singer since she was eight, she was fronting a band by the age of 14. A musical prodigy, Daymé Arocena is also a composer, arranger, choir director and band leader. She is also a practitioner of Santería, and often performs in white on stage as a statement of her beliefs. This song, El 456, can be found on her 2016 album One Takes.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daym%C3%A9_Arocena; https://www.gillespetersonworldwide.com/artist/dayme-arocena/

Singing the Truth: Soneros de Verdad and "Rubalcaba"

Our random tune for today is by Soneros de Verdad. The group's name means "Singers of Truth," and they call themselves the second generation of the Buena Vista Social Club, bridging the gap between the son cubano of 50-60 years ago with more modern sensibilities and original compositions. Fronted by Luis Frank Arias and Mayito Rivero, both international music award winners, the band also employs some other Cuban stars of the newer generation, giving a whole new sound layered on top of the old urban mixed with rural, son, jazz, and other genres. It's Cuba in one package. This song, Rubalcaba, is from the album Luis Frank Presents Soneros de Verdad: A Buena Vista Barrio de la Habana (originally released in 2000, CD release in 2010).

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

What Should I Do: Los Tradicionales de Carlos Puebla and "Dilema"

Today's random song comes from a revolutionary band, in more ways than one. Along with his band Los Tradicionales (or sometimes Sus Tradicionales), Carlos Puebla defined the sound of Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution. A largely self-taught musician on guitar, he began performing in the 1930s, and soon began singing about the hardships and oppression that existed in Cuba. In 1959, when Castro entered victorious into Havana, it made such an impression on Puebla that he began writing songs that chronicled the revolution and disseminated its values. His success in Cuba led to a tour of over 35 countries and the band's reputation as the unofficial musical ambassadors of Cuba. The departure of Che Guevara from Cuba in 1965 led him to write his most famous song, Farewell. Puebla retired due to ill health in 1988 and died a year later - the band's leadership passed to Octavio Abreua and the band renamed themselves Los Tradicionales de Carlos Puebla. This song, Dilema, is recorded by Los Tradicionales de Carlos Puebla, and is a reflection on seeing someone cry and the depth of feeling that results in the one who is observing the other's grief. It can be found on the 1997 compilation CD Putumayo Presents: Music from the Coffee Lands.

Looking for a Girl: Soneros de Verdad and "Golondrina Guajira"

Soneros de Verdad brings us our random tune today. Their name means "Singers of Truth," and they call themselves the second generation of the Buena Vista Social Club, bridging the gap between the son cubano of 50-60 years ago with more modern sensibilities and original compositions. Fronted by Luis Frank Arias and Mayito Rivero, both international music award winners, the band also employs some other Cuban stars of the newer generation, giving a whole new sound layered on top of the old urban mixed with rural, son, jazz, and other genres. It's Cuba in one package. This song, Golondrina Guajira, is from the album Luis Frank Presents Soneros de Verdad: A Buena Vista Barrio de la Habana (originally released in 2000, CD release in 2010).

Longing: Soneros de Verdad and "Longina"

Soneros de Verdad, the group singing our random tune today, means "Singers of Truth," and they call themselves the second generation of the Buena Vista Social Club, bridging the gap between the son cubano of 50-60 years ago with more modern sensibilities and original compositions. Fronted by Luis Frank Arias and Mayito Rivero, both international music award winners, the band also employs some other Cuban stars of the newer generation, giving a whole new sound layered on top of the old urban mixed with rural, son, jazz, and other genres. It's Cuba in one package. This song, Longina, is from the album Luis Frank Presents Soneros de Verdad: A Buena Vista Barrio de la Habana (originally released in 2000, CD release in 2010). The song is one of admiration from a man to a woman, and speaks of her eyes, her curves, her voice and her singing which inspire his song.

Havana Good Time: Soneros de Verdad and "Oguero"

The name of the group responsible for today's random song is intriguing. Soneros de Verdad means "Singers of Truth," and they call themselves the second generation of the Buena Vista Social Club, bridging the gap between the son cubano of 50-60 years ago with more modern sensibilities and original compositions. Fronted by Luis Frank Arias and Mayito Rivero, both international music award winners, the band also employs some other Cuban stars of the newer generation, giving a whole new sound layered on top of the old urban mixed with rural, son, jazz, and other genres. It's Cuba in one package. This song, Oguero, is from the album Luis Frank Presents Soneros de Verdad: A Buena Vista Barrio de la Habana (originally released in 2000, CD release in 2010).

Revolutionary Music: Los Tradicionales de Carlos Puebla and "Dilema"

Today's random song comes from a revolutionary band, in more ways than one. Along with his band Los Tradicionales (or sometimes Sus Tradicionales), Carlos Puebla defined the sound of Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution. A largely self-taught musician on guitar, he began performing in the 1930s, and soon began singing about the hardships and oppression that existed in Cuba. In 1959, when Castro entered victorious into Havana, it made such an impression on Puebla that he began writing songs that chronicled the revolution and disseminated its values. His success in Cuba led to a tour of over 35 countries and the band's reputation as the unofficial musical ambassadors of Cuba. The departure of Che Guevara from Cuba in 1965 led him to write his most famous song, Farewell. Puebla retired due to ill health in 1988 and died a year later - the band's leadership passed to Octavio Abreua and the band renamed themselves Los Tradicionales de Carlos Puebla. This song, Dilema, is recorded by Los Tradicionales de Carlos Puebla, and is a reflection on seeing someone cry and the depth of feeling that results in the one who is observing the other's grief. It can be found on the 1997 compilation CD Putumayo Presents: Music from the Coffee Lands.

Blazing New Trails: Juan Formell and Los Van Van with "Chapeando"

Chapeando is the title of today's random tune. The performers are Juan Formell and Los Van Van. Los Van Van is considered the most well-known post-revolutionary Cuban musical group and Formell is one of the most important figures in contemporary Cuban music. Formell formed Los Van Van in 1969 after breaking with Orquesta Revé where he had been musical director. Los Van Van infused Cuban son with elements of North American pop to try to capture the imagination of Cuba's younger generation. And it worked as the band gained commercial popularity by shattering previous formulaic restrictions on Cuban music. The band continued to innovate through the years, introducing new instrumentation, harmonies and arrangements never before used in Cuban music. In the 80s, Formell added trombones and was the first Cuban group to use synthesizers and drum machines. The band launched the careers of many well known Cuban artists today. Los Van Van continues to perform despite the death of Formell in 2014. Chapeando can be found on their 2005 album of the same name.

Doing the Dance: George Acosta and "Someone"

George Acosta brings the dance to the random tune today. A Cuban DJ and producer who was raised in Miami, he has been described a force in the genre of dance music. He began as a DJ spinning tunes at high school dances, house parties and the like but then a trip to Germany changed his perspective. He started working in dance music and produced Planet Soul, which had a major hit called Set You Free. He gradually began changing his focus into progressive house music in the 2000's. He continues to produce and create, and has started his own label called AcoMusic. This song, Someone, can be found on his album of the same name.

Like a Cuban Son: Eliades Ochoa and "All Along the Watchtower"

The random tune for today is an awesome cover of Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower. Eliades Ochoa is a Cuban guitarist and singer who came to worldwide fame as a member of the Buena Vista Social Club which was popularized by the movie of the same name. A guitar player from the age of 6, he was invited to join the Cuban group Cuarteto Patria as its leader and he began introducing elements of the son musical style into their music. His main instrument is the tres, a Cuban guitar with three groups of six strings, but he also occasionally plays the cuatro, which adds two additional strings. All Along the Watchtower can be found on the 2014 release From Another World: A Tribute to Bob Dylan.

Fixes Your Wagon: Buena Vista Social Club and "El Carretero"

The random tune for today is from Cuba - appropriate given our newfound relations with that country. El Carretero is by the Buena Vista Social Club. The Buena Vista Social Club was the name of a club in Havana where musicians met and performed together in the 1940s at a time when new Latin styles were being created. Juan de Marcos González and Ry Cooder assembled a number of those musicians that had played there and recorded them for a CD in 1997. After the release of the CD, they were invited to play as a full ensemble in Amsterdam where filmmaker Wim Wenders captured the performance on film and interspersed that footage with interviews of the musicians in a documentary called Buena Vista Social Club. The documentary went on to receive an Academy Award nomination, and made stars of the once forgotten musicians as well as reviving interest in Cuban music and Latin music in general. El Carretero is a guajira, and has Eliades Ochoa on lead vocals. The song is about a wagon man who brings the harvest of the plains to the harbor. It can be found on the 1997 CD Buena Vista Social Club. Interesting postscript - Ry Cooder was fined $25,000 by the US government for breaking the Trading with the Enemy Act in regard to the Cuban embargo. I guess that obstacle will soon be coming to an end.