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super sonic
Julieta Venegas The undisputed Queen of the Latin Alternative sound, Long Beach-born, Tijuana-nurtured singer and songwriter Venegas is living proof that commercial and critical success can go hand-in-hand. Her most ardent fans embrace her pithy, soul-searching lyrics as guideposts that help them navigate life’s turbulent times. Her catchy melodies and unadorned vocal style also resonate with a vast and growing international following. A prodigious talent, she has released five albums since her 1997 debut Aquí. Nine of her tracks have been featured on movie soundtracks, and she followed up a 2004 Latin Grammy Award for the album Sí with another Latin Grammy and a Grammy Award for the 2006 album Limón y sal (Sony International). The session has spawned a tidal wave of hit singles that has rippled into 2007, scoring success in the U.S., Mexico, Spain, Italy, Colombia and other countries. Venegas’ striking pose, a la Frida Kahlo, on the cover of Limón y sal, underscores her image as a daring and maturing artist whose best is yet to come.
Taking their name from the Nahuatl word for an Aztec astrological symbol, this 10-member Los Angeles-based group came together 12 years ago to perform in support of striking workers. Today, while their commitment to social justice remains as strong as ever, their artistry and popular appeal have grown astronomically. What began as a fairly conventional Latin rock band with a focus on indigenous Mexican styles has dramatically evolved into an all-encompassing global hybrid that resonates as strongly in Mumbai as it does in Mexico City. Winners of a Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album for their 2004 release Street Signs, Ozomatli’s just-released Don’t Mess With The Dragon (both on Concord Records) further refines their potent mix of traditional and contemporary Latin styles, hip-hop, R&B, funk, reggae and increasingly North African and Middle Eastern sounds. As the All Music Guide put it, Ozomatli is a band that reflects “the multiracial and multicultural One World demographics of the 21st century.”
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This
Oaxaca, Mexico-born singer, guitarist and composer is an original
in every sense of the word. The daughter of a Mixtec mother and
a North American father, Lila Downs initially attracted attention
through her adroit and sensitive use of exotic Mixtec, Zapotec,
Nahuatl and Maya references and her vocalizing in pre-Hispanic native
tongues. A Latin Grammy winner for her 2004 album One Blood, she
chose the setting of a venerable Mexican cultural institution for
her follow-up release La cantina (both on Narada). Accompanied by
Flaco Jimenez and a large Mexico City-based ensemble, Downs captures
the heartfelt sentimentality of the ranchera tradition on a program
of originals and genre standards. She casts a wide stylistic net,
appropriating banda, conjunto and mariachi forms and even rap en
español on one track. Downs’ mastery of a panoramic
range of Mexican music on La cantina serves as a preview by this
singular artist of things to come.
A
four-member industrial-strength punk band formed in Monterrey a
decade ago, Panda rocks hard to such pungent themes as So violento
so macabro on their new release Amantes sunt amentes (Warner Music
Latina). Embraced by fans who follow such groups as Green Day—some
have dubbed it “Green Day in Spanish”—and Blink
182, Panda has released four gold and platinum-selling albums in
Mexico since their 2001 debut Arroz con leche. Although dogged by
allegations that they’ve borrowed too liberally from the lyrics
and music of such groups as My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy,
Panda parties on, building a large bilingual following that’s
crazy about their pure energy and edgy vocals. 
Winner
of a Latin Grammy last year for his hit Te Mando Flores; an MTV
Latin America award for Best New Artist; a Premio Lo Nuestro for
Artista Revelación, and four nominations to this month’s
Billboard Latin Music Awards; Bogotá, Colombia native Juan
Fernando Fonseca is the new king of vallenato pop. Just as Carlos
Vives brought the richness of Colombian folk music to the masses
a decade ago through his effective blend of traditional and contemporary
influences, Fonseca has tapped the rustic sounds of Colombia’s
hinterland as a base for a new twist on old sounds. On his new album
Corazón (EMI Latin), Fonseca ranges from such plaintive fare
as La casa, a simple ballad where his emotive voice is accompanied
by solo guitar, to the elaborate global rhythmic textures of the
title tune. The multitalented Fonseca is a worthy addition to the
long list of Colombian pop music superstars that includes Vives,
Juanes and Shakira.
Despite
having relocated to New York a decade ago, this six-member Venezuelan
band remains a popular attraction in its homeland. Perhaps it’s
because the group’s eclectic blend of contemporary influences
recalls—and often lampoons—the national fixation on
a trendy lifestyle that saw its peak decades ago but is in decline
today. Carefree afternoons lounging poolside might no longer be
in vogue in Caracas, but Los Amigos Invisibles continue to mine
that bygone era for inspiration, winning new fans with every outing.
Super Pop Venezuela (Gozadera Records), their fifth release since
1995, further refines their mix of electronica, funk, rock, Brazilian
bossa, salsa and other seemingly disparate styles. The Amigos focus
their finely honed satirical wit on such venerable national traditions
as the Miss Venezuela pageant while scoring artistic success with
snaky techno bossas and burning performances.
Champions
of an emerging genre that’s been dubbed Free Style Norteño,
this Monterrey, Mexico-based, five-member group is known for its
hard-hitting, hip-hop accented, accordion-driven and world beat-conscious
cumbias. The band’s title is rooted in the reality of Monterrey’s
voiceless masses—the thousands of youth who populate the city’s
poorest barrios and have become their most steadfast fans. El Gran
Silencio was born in 1999 when their debut album Libres y locos
caught the attention of young music fans in Mexico’s second
largest city. EGS, as they are also known, gave birth to Chuntarismo—a
cultural movement in which music, fashion, dance and singing are
seen as all flowing from the same source. Expanding their interest
in cumbia beyond its conventional norteño form, EGS has explored
the style’s Colombian origins, adding Colombian puya, porro,
vallenato and paseo to their aural arsenal. Their latest release,
Comunicaflow Underground (EMI Televisa Music), is a powerful blend
of regional and global styles.
Salsa,
once the brash standard-bearer of cutting edge Latin music, has
long been desperately in need of an injection of new blood. With
the arrival just three years ago of N’Klabe, aging fans of
the tropical dance style have something new to cheer about. The
Puerto Rican band is unrestrained in its adoration of salsa pura—their
second album was titled simply I Love Salsa. Their latest, A Punto
de Estallar (Sony International), is a dance-inducing combination
of salsa romantica, with such teen-oriented themes as Historia Del
Primer Amor, and the style’s more full bodied predecessor,
with a meaty horn section and sizzling Afro-Cuban rhythms backing
their youthful vocals. They’ve earned the respect of such
salsa icons as Cheo Feliciano and younger fans are giving salsa
a second thought, thanks to the N’Klabe’s fresh and
energizing take on the tradition.
As
much an entrepreneur as an entertainer, this Houston-based artist
(born Pedro Herrera III) has parlayed a bilingual rap act into a
far-ranging business enterprise that markets such disparate products
as a coloring book for kids, tamale-shaped Christmas tree ornaments,
and bobble heads in his own likeness, and his own brand of hot sauce.
Sporting a black cowboy hat, Chingo Bling’s raps often venture
into parody, with such titles as They Can’t Deport Us All
and America’s Favorite Wetback. He has collaborated with such
noted rappers as Fat Joe and Nelly and created his own label, Big
Chile Enterprises, to distribute such albums as Tamale Kingpin,
which includes the track Osama!! Who Got the Keys to My Humma??
His street hustler’s style and keen sense of humor are on
full display on his latest effort, They All Want Him But Who Can
Afford Him (Oarfin Records).
The
positive vibe generated when their tune Don’t Let Go attracted
attention as part of the soundtrack of the 2005 film La Mujer de
Mi Hermano helped the Bronx-based duo Pacha Massive rapidly build
an enthusiastic nationwide following. The group won the Latin Alternative
Music Conference’s Battle of the Bands and has opened for
such groups as Aterciopelados and Yerba Buena. Pacha Massive’s
just released debut album All Good Things on Nacional Records is
packed with all of las cosas buenas that make the New York City
Latin music scene so vibrant. Dominican-born Nova, the duo’s
keyboardist, guitarist and producer, and bassist Maya, a Colombiana
who was raised in Washington Heights, pack the album’s 15
tracks with deftly produced slices of cumbia, reggae, hip-hop, drums-and-bass
beats and Afro-Cuban rhythms. Bilingual lyrics sung by Nova and
a bevy of female guests, sultry horn accents, and rippling electronica
samples give All Good Things its unmistakable NYC attitude.