My Quixote-esque Mission: More Latin Music Love on MOG
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Track:El 440325
During New York's Summer of Sam And The Second Blackout (1977), I was just out of school and unsuccessfully looking for work in Manhattan (which I didn't find for another three years, but that's another story). I was crashing at a friend's apartment on 98th and Broadway, which in those days was a funky, almost-but-not-quite scary part of the city. (Today it's Fortyish Successful Media Professional Central.) There I got my first exposure to Latin music, which was usually wafting up from the fire escape that my bedroom window looked out upon. My first opinion: It was alien and godawful. Those endlessly repeated chords, that too-busy rhythm section (I was getting stoned a lot in those days and preferred something mellower), those nasal vocals. And every song sounded the same.
It took until three years later, when I finally managed to shoehorn my way onto a magazine's masthead at the bottom of the page, to start appreciating this genre. The fact that it was part of the soundtrack of New York - this city that had once been terrifying but was now oddly liberating, with so much to learn about and take in and marvel at - helped a good deal. But as I listened more closely, I began to hear its subtleties, its playfulness, its cleverness, its fullness. And, well, its passion. Not cliche Latin-love passion, but the fervent, all-out abandonment to sound and rhythm and all the things that could be done with them.
Its variety, too. There's no definitive Latin sound, despite what I thought as I lay on a too-well-used mattress in the Upper West Side thirty years ago. I fear that too many folks, even a number of those who regard themselves as open-eared, don't listen closely enough to this music - it's a little like country and weastern in that regard. The music and its alleged social connotations are too much in the way. A shame.
To do my microscopic part to attempt to rectify this situation, I offer you the sublime Cuban love man, Issac Delgado. If I were a woman I would do any man who could sing like this. The montuno section - that's where the male singers vamp and the lead singer responds improvisationally - positively sparkles. And the arrangement is so urbane and witty. And the rhythm section underneath cooks along so unobtrusively it takes a while to realize that they're really driving the cut. If only we could get rid of that dippy keyboard synth that swoops in for the last 15 seconds, this song would be nearly perfect. Hope you enjoy it....
Note to Cody: "Con Ganas," from which this cut comes, is from a CD on qbadisc (Ned Sublette's former label) that apparently culls Delgado's first few releases. No idea if this one is available any more....
Comments (13)
Per your recommendation, I got Con Ganas some time ago--I found in on Amazon Marketplace, and though I don't see it available now, I'd urge our mog friends to track it down. You're right, of course, that Latin music is a multitude of sounds. It is, though, the definitive music of New York streets.
Off-topic: We're on West End and 99th, and to us it looks more like Older/Retired Professionals (doctors, therapists, lawyers), and Youngish Moms and Dads. And dogs (one of which is ours).
Can you say which magazine?
Hey, Quix is for kids...
I always wanted to ask you how this began. I grew up in the Midwest in small towns and suburbs, and did not get much exposure to Latin until late in my adult life as a result. But the story's still a little incomplete. You didn't like it at first, then you joined a magazine and..liked it? C'mon, write some more!
Nice track, by the way...
"The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love" - the novel by Oscar Hijuelos, not the godawful film that missed the entire point of the book, captures the era when Latin music dominated the world in the way reggae did three decades later. While it's undeniably crude and sexist (which no doubt is an accurate portrayal of famous and handsome Cuban singers of the time, or indeed probably any locality and era), it's still worth a read
Caramba! You've done it again, ivy! Delgado is so smoooooth.
I enjoyed "El 440325," especially when the brass wasn't playing. Mr. Delgado sings it well. It's always a treat to hear about your past. Before moving to Manhattan in 1978, I lived in SF, where mariachi music in restaurants was my exposure to Latin music, and I kept wishing that they would quit bellowing and play a good guitar solo.
yeah...i really enjoy the beat and the vocals, but for some reason the only time I really like horns is on Earth Wind and Fire.
On a sunny Sunday morning I'm letting this wash over me with zero analysis. Just letting it perform its magic while sipping coffee and avoiding chores. Perfection all round. (But if I'd heard it 30 years ago I would have dismissed it.)
Bill, that is sweet stuff. What does Con Ganas mean in Spanish? And I agree with Mark,, lets hear the rest of the tale. How does one go from stoner mellow dude to mambo-lovin' master of the eclectic?
deedee, thanks for the second on Issac. My first Manhattan place of employment is now defunct. It was called Signature, and it was a travel magazine that was actually a pretty creditable second fiddle to Travel & Leisure, though somewhat hampered by the fact that it went to Diners Club members (who were not as few as they are now, thought the trend even then was clearly in that direction....)
dermahrk, I just think that the first time I spent time in New York I was still a product of my prejudices. Between then and my return I became more....curious, or something. Whether something fit into my existing worldview wasn't as important as it had once been....
Baudolino, you are exactly right about both the book and the movie. One learns to regard the cinematic version of beloved works with suspicion, but nothing could have prepared one for how thoroughly that movie missed the mark. Though Armand Assante as a Cuban should have been a red flag....
M the K, glad you found it bueno. He is pretty much the definition of "catnip to the ladies".....
Spike, ongoingly, the brass is an interesting point here. I think it was one of the things I initially disliked most about the Latin music I knew at that time. I just hated brass. (As I said above, a product of my prejudices.) Nowadays I don't dislike horns as busy as these, or not always. But I understand your disinclination....
Jonh, a chore that does not allow you to groove simultaneously is not worth doing....
Chris, excellent question. Any Spanish speakers out there?
It means "with desire."
The perfect title.
Man, I got to get out more..sorry I missed the intial rush here..I,too am guilty of not giving enough Latin love...On Mog. This tune simmers nicely.
Yeah, this is probably the mellowest cut on the album....