\u201c\u00a1As\u00ed es\u2026 Con salsa!\u201d, by Colombia\u2019s Alfredo Guti\u00e9rrez y Los Caporales del Magdalena, is a legendary collector\u2019s album, yet still undeservedly obscure (and perhaps sonically surprising) for the uninitiated. It\u2019s an experimental mash-up of seemingly disparate genres from different origins that on paper would seem to be at cross purposes. Yet at the same time the release is a masterpiece of raw pan-Latin fusion from the dawn of Colombian salsa that holds its own as a bonafide heavy duty pioneering record of the genre, despite its outsider status.<\/p>\n
Probably the most shocking musical element is Alfredo Guti\u00e9rrez\u2019s fiery accordion, an unexpected instrument in the idiom of salsa, as it\u2019s usually associated with the tropical music of Guti\u00e9rrez\u2019s Caribbean home region of Sucre. Guti\u00e9rrez has always been a provocateur, never shying away from the controversial or outlandish, which has earned him the richly deserved sobriquet, \u201cEl Rebelde Del Acorde\u00f3n\u201d (The Rebel of The Accordion).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Guti\u00e9rrez started Los Caporales in 1968 as a rival to Discos Fuentes supergroup Los Corraleros de Majagual, and the band had made three popular albums prior to \u201c\u00a1As\u00ed es\u2026 Con salsa!\u201d, yet most of the repertoire on those records consisted of typical Colombian tropical and coastal rhythms and genres, none were purposely devoted to the newly minted genre of salsa.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From the start, Guti\u00e9rrez lays down a salsa manifesto when the album kicks off with \u2018Guadelupe no va\u2019, a four-minute workout with pile-driving force that demonstrates the uncompromising power of this 14 piece orchestra. The listener is instantly hooked by the rawness of the sound, the bouncy energy, heavy brass and piano arrangements and the looseness of the improvisational sections.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Guti\u00e9rrez was given the green light by Codiscos A&R head Humberto Moreno to dedicate an album to New York style salsa, giving more prominence to the voice and compositions of Lucho P\u00e9rez, an already proven expert in Cuban genres who previously had been only one among many vocalists in the band. Several tunes on the record are remakes of older compositions by Lucho P\u00e9rez from his early tenure with Discos Fuentes group La Sonora Dinamita, the new versions are much more raw and menacing, as if put through a Bronx filter.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The band was made up of Codiscos\u2019 regular stable of ace studio musicians from Medell\u00edn for the recording date. The album was both a success and also not abnormal in its mixing of salsa and coste\u00f1o Colombian sounds, as there were several other similar hybrid records by other artists at the time. Both the desperation of the lyrics (about not being able to afford anything) and Lucho P\u00e9rez\u2019 forceful delivery leave an indelible impression of street-wise authenticity, which is backed up by the fact that both band members grew up poor.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For this edition of the album, its first reissue on vinyl, we have added several tracks from other Caporales albums that fit in perfectly with the heavy salsa sound of the original LP, including \u201cSonia quiere un son\u201d, another remake of an earlier Sonora Dinamita track.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
First time reissue of a legendary and undeservedly obscure salsa collector\u2019s album from 1969. <\/p>\n
Led by rebel accordionist Alfredo Guti\u00e9rrez and featuring singer Lucho P\u00e9rez of Sonora Dinamita fame, \u201cAs\u00ed es\u2026 Con salsa!\u201d is just that: raw, heavy duty NYC salsa performed through a Colombian \u201cCoste\u00f1o\u201d tropical filter, with trombone, accordion and deep bass. <\/p>\n
Contains three hot bonus tracks in the same style and insert with liner notes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":108917,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[195,193],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-109281","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-colombia-en","7":"product_cat-latin-en","8":"product_shipping_class-lp-en-3","9":"pa_formato-lp-en","11":"first","12":"instock","13":"sale","14":"taxable","15":"shipping-taxable","16":"purchasable","17":"product-type-simple"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/109281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=109281"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=109281"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=109281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}