Saturday, December 22, 2007

En La Misma Onda

Don't forget to vote for our 2007 Readers Award - who do you think deserves to be called the best latin artist of this year? The poll is on your right, in the sidebar!

mun2 rounds up the facts on the horrifying murders of three grupero folk singers in Mexico. Jose Luis Aquino (Los Conde), Sergio Gomez (K-Paz de la Sierra) and Zayda Peña did NOT sing those dreadful narcocorridos, glorifying illegal immigration and drug trafficking, but average romantic Mexican folk songs - leading to the suspicion that drug cartels are also extorting mainstream acts now.

Shakira received a very deserved Golden Globe nomination for "Despedida", which you can still download in our playlist (on the right, in the sidebar). (via mun2).

"Many Venezuelans are suffering through the dictatorship of Chavez" - Alejandro Sanz will definitely not perform in Venezuela until 2011 :) His october gig in Caracas got cancelled after a similar remark. (via VivirLatino)

Latin Gossip reports Ricky Martin could be gay. Get outta here. In other shocking news: the sky is blue.

A much-hyped MC battle between Arcangel and Jowell y Randy, which would be decided by text messages from the audience, ended up without winner because of technical difficulties. After a very rehearsed 'kiss-and-make-up' scene on stage, the press even accused the three rappers of organizing the tirarea (diss songs) just to build the hype for the concert.

It doesn't always have to be Maná or RBD: the Independent Music Awards have a few nice finds among their 'World' category winners, like José Conde or the -to me unknown- Zoraida Santiago. SoundRoots also selected their picks for 2007's best world music. Great stuff as always, but not much Spanish-language music this year.

For our Dutch readers: Tropicalidad talks about Colombiafrica/The Mystic Orchestra, a mixup between the Caribbean flavors of champeta and the distinctively African soukous rhythm, which both have evolved from the rumba. Curious what that sounds like? Check out their MySpace!

I was thinking about doing a christmas-themed article, but then Ritmo Latino posted this great holiday podcast - I couldn't possibly match that ;) Happy holidays!

3 comments:

Enshturpalaka Kaziszsmo said...

Hi,

It's the -Mystic- Orchestra.

SpinTheGlobe said...

Chapin:

"SoundRoots also selected their picks for 2007's best world music, but nothing latino there."

You tryin' to start sumthin', buddy?

To set the record straight, the SoundRoots Top 10 does include Latin sounds. There's Andy Palacio (Belize) and of course Kobo Town includes a fair amount of Caribbean influence. Then there's Forro in the Dark from Brazil. And hey, and the Best Compilation honors went to an album of Cuban music. How'd you miss all that? Heck, there's a lot of Latin music on my list.

That said, I'll admit that you're more latinocentric, and I always enjoy and learn from your post. Keep up the good work. But fire your fact checker.

Happy Holidays & New Year!
dj earball of SoundRoots

By the way, I do like Colmbiafrica/ Mystic Orchestra, but it wasn't enough of a favorite to make the SoundRoots cut.

Chapín said...

Of course I'm not trying to start something, at all - sorry if the 'tone' of my post was unclear. I adjusted it to highlight what I mean ;) The mere fact of me linking to your list means I appreciate it very much! I haven't found any other list I'd even want to link to.

And 'nothing latino' is a pure issue of definition - I always used 'latino music' in the significance of Spanish-language music, which is a very narrow interpretation, I know.

So to set things straight: I love your top 10, Andy Palacio rules, Kobo Town is a well-deserved 1st spot, and even in the next 10 there are jewels like Vieux Farka Touré and Angelique Kidjo. Have to check out that compilation btw.

Happy holidays!
Chapin