It's getting cold. It's getting dark. Most of the fruits which some months ago still were juicy and tasteful, are either hard to find or too insipid, too floury or too hard because they were harvested unripe, shipped over tremendous distances and stored for eternities.
Only mandarines taste better now, than in summer but their flavor instantaneously reminds one of Christmas.

Isn't there any chance to take just a little bit of summer with us into the tristesse of the European winter?

The only possibility which comes to my mind is to trust in a more persistent and reliable export hit form the warmer realms on this earth: la música!

And recently we've filled our stock with a couple of CDs brimful with it, which I'am going to present to you in the next blog entries - all of them stuffed with Caribbean rhythms and "con sabor!" guaranteed

Let's start with three Compilations from Guataca Records:

Hot Salsa
This CD seems to have been made for driving out the cold, whether by obliging you to dance or simply by warming your heart

Under such circumstances Pedro Brull feels like shouting: "¡Agua, que me quemo!" (Track 9).
But things are hotting up from the very beginning, as El Gran Combo make clear with "El Problema está en el Coco", one of the hits of their latest album.
However this vigorous start apparently doesn't intimidate the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Roberto Roena, Edwin Clemente, Willie Sotelo, El Sindicato de la Salsa and all the others who spread heatwaves throughout the rest of this compilation.
Altogether a whole lot of really good salsa from the last years!

Latin Fever
Onwards to feverish temperatures we go with Latin Fever!
This compliation is opened again by El Gran Combo - this time with "Esa Mujer".
The selection of songs totally fulfills the claim of the title! For besides classy salsa (represented by Oscar D'León, Jose Alberto "El Canario" and others) there's also merengue (by Rubby Pérez, Peña Suazo and Karis), Mambo, Bogaloo ("Micaela" by Son ora Broadway - a brilliant song!) and even Bachata and Cha Cha Cha!

Cuba Cafe
To prevent complete hyperthermia, subsequently you should go to the "Cuba cafe" and indulge in the "Essential Cuban Son" which is played here. So groovy and laid back at the same time, the son is just perfect to relax 'a lo Cubano'... and now it should have become clear that you don' always have to shake a leg to feel summerly good

"Buena Vista Social Club" took the son to world fame but they are not the only ones who know how to handle Claves, Maracas, Bongos, Guitar and contrabass! Orlando Canto, Sandoval, Max González, Germán Obregon and the others represented on this sampler know how to do it right, too!!!


And if that's still not enough for you, you should have a look at our New Salsa Releases