Salsa: Willy Chirino

Even after all those years of listening to, searching for and blogging about latin music, the genre still has many suprises for me. I was astounded to find out that Willy Chirino, author of the fresh and bubbly salsa "Pa'Lante", is credited as one of the creators of the "Miami sound" that characterized the salsa sound of the first Cuban exiles (after the revolution in '60).

But "Pa'Lante" for some reason emanates the feelgood vibe that's so characteristic for vallenato. It might be the playful accordeon, or the positive message ("Live your dreams!") and the enthousiasm in Chirino's voice. The combination with acoustic guitars and a Polo Montañez-like violin is, on the other hand, typically Cuban. It all combines in a catchy and original pop song that definitely deserves your attention. With a discography of 28 albums and hundreds of songs, there's still much to discover about Willy Chirino...

Willy Chirino - Pa'lante mp3 buy@iTunes buy@Amazon myspace