Around the turn of the century, I went through a brief "Cuban phase" during which I listened to a lot of Afro-Cuban music and became a wannabe cigar aficionado. Oddly, I didn't drink much rum at the time. Go figure. Anyway - even though he then lived about 80 miles away, my high school friend Jim went through a similar phase along with me. I would travel to his place a few weekends a year where he had set up his back porch as a place to drink beer, smoke cigars, and listen to Afro-Cuban CDs. He dubbed it "Jaime's Cantina" and it was a great place to relax (my stressors around 1999 included grad school, teaching middle school, raising two sons ages 6 & 2, being webmaster for my church, and guess what? Everything turned out ok despite my worry.).
Admittedly, I haven't listened to much Afro-Cuban music since those days but I found this Ibrahim Ferrer CD among my father's belongings and it's got me grooving once again. No cigars this go round as they now make me nauseous for some reason (getting old is hell).
Ferrer was famous for his bolero vocals, but this disc has a variety of styles, including my personal favorite, son. The album was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Tropical Latin Album. Plus, after the release of this album, Ferrer - at the age of 72! - was named Best New Artist at the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards. And now I need to dig out my Buena Vista Social Club DVD and give that another watch this afternoon.
Press of the time:
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard 200: #137
- Billboard Top Latin: #2
- Billboard Tropical: #1
Tracks: It's all good, but if I had to pick my favorites today, they would be Bruca Maniguá, Guateque Campesino, Qué Bueno Baila Usted, and the dreamy Silencio.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I was honored to see Ferrer perform not long after this CD was released.
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