ROCK EN ESPANOL ROLLS INTO HERE AND NOW.Byline: Cary Darling Orange County Register While many critical hosannas have been thrown at the feet of rock en Espanol - the Spanish-language twist on rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. tradition - it's still difficult for many non-Spanish speakers to get into, and not just because of the language barrier. It's one thing to read about the cool folkloric punk of Mexico's Cafe Tacuba or the infectious funk-ska-reggae meld of Argentina's Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. Often it's another trying to find the discs - especially outside urban areas with large Latino populations. Two new compilations, with some of the genre's most acclaimed bands, are hitting the market aimed at both Spanish and English speakers, making it easier for neophytes to get a sample. The 19-track ``Silencio (EQ) Muerte: Red Hot + Latin,'' on H.O.L.A./Polygram, the 10th of the well-received ``Red Hot'' AIDS fund-raiser albums, hits stores today while the 17-track ``Reconquista!: The Latin Rock Invasion,'' the first in a series of Latin rock compilations from Rhino, arrived last week. Tours, featuring some of the acts from both sets, may take place this summer. For Tomas Cookman, executive producer of ``Silencio (EQ) Muerte: Red Hot + Latin,'' it's all part of a newfound interest and curiosity among record labels about the rock en Espanol scene. ``Every major label wants to do more stuff in rock en Espanol,'' he said by phone. ``It only makes sense with bands like the Cadillacs and Cafe Tacuba selling out (shows) without major-label support. The same thing happened years ago with rap and, before that, new wave. The numbers are there. ``It's a very good time to do this,'' he continued. ``Finally, Spanish-language bands have their own identity, and it's no longer about `This is a Spanish ZZ Top.' Cafe Tacuba is Cafe Tacuba. (These bands) needed their identity to go to the next step, and that's what's happening.'' A Red Hot call Cookman, manager of several rock en Espanol bands, including Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, had long been a fan of the ``Red Hot'' series, founded in 1989 to raise money to fight AIDS. Previous volumes include the multigenre ``Red Hot + Blue,'' the rock ``No Alternative,'' the jazz ``Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool,'' the hip-hop ``America Is Dying Slowly'' and the Brazilian ``Red Hot + Rio.'' The umbrella Red Hot Organization This article is about the AIDS benefit organization. For other uses, see Red hot (disambiguation). Red Hot Organization (RHO) is an international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. says it has given $6 million to AIDS groups. So he decided to call Red Hot Organization founder-executive director John Carlin car·line or car·lin n. Scots A woman, especially an old one. [Middle English kerling, from Old Norse, from karl, man.] with a suggestion for what he thought one of the next discs should be. ``I thought in the back of my mind, eventually they're going to do something in Spanish. I thought if they ever do a record, it would probably be with Gloria Estefan or Jon Secada. So, instead I sent (rock en Espanol) tapes to John Carlin. He called me at home the next day, he loved them so much. He said he wanted to do a `Red Hot + Latin'.'' Cookman began calling bands, but he saw this as more than just a generic rock en Espanol collection. He wanted to involve English-language artists as well, often in pairings with a Spanish-language band. There's Los Lobos and rapper Money Mark kicking things off with ``Pepe & Irene,'' Cafe Tacuba and David Byrne playing together on ``Yolanda Niguas,'' Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and Fishbone teaming for a remake of ``What's New Pussycat puss·y·cat n. 1. A cat. 2. Informal One who is regarded as easygoing, mild-mannered, or amiable. Noun 1. ?'' Mexican punkers Cuca and veteran L.A. punk band Youth Brigade Youth Brigade can refer to two different punk music groups:
possesses magic cloak which permits flight. [Children’s Lit.: The Little Lame Prince] See : Flying ,'' Argentine reggae group Los Pericos Los Pericos is an Argentinean band formed in 1987. The band has enjoyed international success, especially throughout South America.[1] Discography
n. 1. or dance hall A building or part of a building with facilities for dancing. 2. See ragga. dancehall Noun a style of dance-oriented reggae reggae star Buju Banton Buju Banton (born Mark Anthony Myrie 1972 35 years of age) is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae singer & producer. History Buju Banton was born near Kingston, Jamaica in a poor neighborhood called Salt Lane. tackling ``Wanna wan·na Informal 1. Contraction of want to: You wanna go now? 2. Contraction of want a: You wanna slice of pie? Be Loved,'' and pranksters Geggy Tah Geggy Tah is a band initially composed of writer/singer Tommy Jordan and keyboard/guitarist Greg Kurstin. Each of them has a younger sister who was unable to pronounce her brother's name when very young; "Geggy" and "Tah" were the baby girls' mispronunciations of their brother's and King Chango getting together for a take on ``Whoever You Are.'' Several hip-hoppers - including Sen Dog, Mellow Man Ace, MC Skeey, Mr. Rico and DJ Rif - throw in together for a rap, ``Quien Es Ese Negro.'' Meanwhile, Colombian alt-rock band Aterciopelados and Argentine singer Diego Frenkel (of the band La Portuaria) join veteran New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of musician-performance artist Laurie Anderson for ``Una Hoja, Una Raiz.'' Other artists get solo shots, including Sepultura, Cibo Matto, Ruben Blades and Melissa Etheridge performing the Spanish-language song ``Sin Tener a Donde Ir.'' Survey of Latin rock If ``Silencio (EQ) Muerte'' was made against the backdrop of a deadly disease, ``Reconquista!: The Latin Rock Invasion'' was made with a sense of historical revisionism in mind. Los Angeles-based producer-compiler Ruben Guevara wanted to document the history of Latin Latin is a member of the family of Italic languages, and its alphabet, the Latin alphabet, emerged from the Old Italic alphabets, which in turn were derived from the Greek and Phoenician scripts. rock and show the Latin contribution to the rock 'n' roll continuum. The result is the first volume in what he and Rhino Records hope will be a 50-year survey of Latin rock. Yet the current CD is rooted in the here and now, featuring some of the most talked-about bands in the Spanish-language world: Maldita Vecindad, Fobia, Negu Gorriak, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Divididos, Seguridad Social, La Castaneda, Cuca, Santa Sabina, Caifanes and Mano Negra. If there's a connection among them, it's that there's a certain political and social awareness. ``I didn't want to put out a sampler. I've done that,'' Guevara said by phone. ``I wanted some thought behind it, some creativity. `Reconquista!' to me is a counter-conquest, a reconquering of lost respect and humanity. That's the reason for the title.'' Guevara's goal is not a newfound one. In 1983, he and Rhino executive Richard Foos formed a subsidiary called Zanya, ``designed to document Chicano music in L.A.'' A disc devoted to the history of Latino rock and a ``Best of the Midniters'' were released along with a sampler of then-current East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. bands. ``At the time, our mission was to document the contribution of Chicano and Latino musicians to rock. We got some success from that and a lot of good press - but no sales.'' So Zanya was dormant until 1990, when Guevara approached Foos again about reviving the label. But it wasn't until 1993 that they decided to go ahead with a series that would document the post-World War II Latin music scene. Around the same time, thanks to friends who had started the Long Beach-based rock en Espanol fanzine fan·zine n. An amateur-produced magazine written for a subculture of enthusiasts devoted to a particular interest: a science fiction fanzine. La Banda Elastica, Guevara began thinking about moving beyond the music of California-based Latinos. ``(They) said there was a heavy scene internationally, and I was looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. bands with social commentary and creative musically,'' he recalled. ``I got a stack of CDs and started listening to certain bands. ... I was very impressed.'' |
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