Tal Para Cual -- A Pair of Infectious Salsa Albums Hit the Streets April 22

The Think Global and Rough Guide series are getting ready to drop some serious Latin dance music assaults featuring artists from the Caribbean, Colombia, and New York. From the polyrhythmic pyrotechnics of Cuban timba to the retro Latin soul of bugalú, the two discs compliment each other in their diasporic display of the genre's wide range of styles and hard-driving party music aesthetic. Together the albums have about 30 acts between them. Each song is like a hand picked gem expertly placed so that the next track shines just as bright. On Cuban Street Party venerable and contemporary orquestas such as Adalberto Alvarez Y Su Son, Bamboleo, Sierra Maestra, and Maraca are just a few bands that exemplify the explosive cross-section of Cuba's lean, dance music machines. Fiesta Latina - which I must mention is being produced in collaboration with, and raising funds for Amnesty International - offers a different take on salsa, filtered through such greats as the late Ray Barretto, more obscure acts like Colombiafrica, and New York's swinging Spanish Harlem Orchestra, a relatively new outfit that has helped usher in the salsa dura renaissance. My main criticism of the album relates to the garishly stereotypical cover. Whereas Cuban Street Party beckons with a spontaneous, carefree shot of a street carnaval reveler clad in typical rumbera attire, Fiesta Latina's lip-puckering cha-cha girl dressed in loud primary colors and cascading fruit on her head does the music contained in the album a great disservice. But don't judge a book by its cover. Anyway back to Cuban Street Party. I gotta say La Lupe is my absolute favorite here. I may not agree with the selection of "Sin Maíz," given so many other more memorable songs, but I take solace in the fact that the dynamic Cuban diva always owned her performances. Coming from La Yiyiyi, you can be sure it's raw expression, even if she's singing about corn. La Lupe was one of a kind. Volatile and unpredictable, she unleashed her histrionic fury on stage, famously beating up on her accompanying pianist Homero Balboa during her live sets in Havana. That was before she left the island in 1962 for the Big Apple, eventually becoming another star in Fania's hitmaking machine. She didn't let up on her onstage antics and was even fired by Tito Puento when she became too hard to handle. Tragically, La Lupe lived out her remaining days practically destitute and forgotten. In recent years she's been reclaimed as an icon. Plenty late for her, but never late for Latin music fans to discover her legacy.