Jibaro Hasta el Hueso, and: Para Todos Ustedes, and: Viento de Agua Unplugged: Materia Prima, and: Quisqueya en el Hudson/Dominican Music in New York City (review)

Originating during the colonial era, by the 1960s these styles were performed in very limited contexts, usually the Christmas season-when I first heard them, they were described to me as "Christmas carols." Of note are the two versions of "Carmelita," one a percussion-and-song street plena, and the other with full band and modern reharmonization-a good pair to play back-to-back in a world music class. Granted, Puerto Ricans have been substituting congas for panderetas in bands for a long time, but this recording simply does not sound like acoustic plena. [...]the vocals are mixed behind the drums, again sounding more studio than acoustic. Nonetheless, the soloing throughout is hot, the vocals pretty, the rarely heard tumbandero (washtub bass) on "Las Tarimas" fun, and the polyrhythmic bell arrangement of "Ola de la Mar" engaging.