For those unaware of the greatness of venezuelan conductor Aldemaro Romero, we could compare him with the better known (Juan García) ESQUIVEL. Romero and Esquivel had more than one thing in common. In addition to being piano virtuosos with a futuristic sense for popular music revitalized with vocal arrangements and original instrumentation, they each experimented in the recording studio and maintained a mutual admiration and friendship. Aside from name-dropping, Aldemaro Romero is the musical innovator who in the very late sixties created the “Onda Nueva” (or “new wave”), which was nothing less than a mixture of modern jazz orchestrations, the hypnotism of the Bossa Nova guitar, Venezuelan folklore melodies and extremely original and complex vocal structures set to the fast-paced 3/4 rhythm typical of some Venezuelan traditional music. Probably the rarest album from Aldemaro Romero is this homage to traditional and popular Mexican songs, with the pop singer Monna Bell on vocals. The musicians (well skilled jazz players from Mexico) were free to bring in any idea to the studio and to improvise during the recordings. The result was an explosion of tonalities that, in spite of being essentially popular traditions, revealed something exceedingly unique cosmopolitan and modern. “La Onda Nueva en Mexico” has remained a cult record among those searching for rare grooves because of its completely unique concept of combining traditional Mexican music arranged by a cosmopolitan Venezuelan influenced by Bossa Nova, sung by a Chilean pop singer and orchestrated by Mexican jazz musicians, all on one record! A complete artistic achievement recovered by Vampisoul 37 years later (first reissue since its original 1970 release date). With extensive liner notes courtesy of Carlos Icaza based on interviews with Aldemaro and some of the original session musicians.