Ramiro Burr: Guerra CD mixes merengue, bachata, more

Bachata master Juan Luis Guerra says he never likes to rush his albums because he considers each like my children. I always take my time because my records are like my babies, Guerra said. We need a minimum of nine months to prepare.

Music fans, especially followers of the Dominican merengue rhythms, have reason to celebrate: Guerra and his 440 big band have just released a new CD, La Llave de mi Corazon, his first on a major record label EMI Televisa. It is Guerra's first secular studio album since 1998's Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual.
Guerra's previous CD was 2004's Para Ti, which also showcased his mastery at fusing spicy big-band rhythms and singalong harmonies.

That album replaced conventional themes with original spiritual tunes.
On Corazon, Guerra demonstrates that he still has all his musical weapons intact: sizzling percussion, sweeping carnival-like horns and contagious vocal harmonies.
Guerra's music is a cousin of the Afro-Cuban salsa rhythms.

He specializes in the merengue, a feverishly fast dance, and the bachata, a sensuous and romantic Dominican ballad similar to the bolero.
But for his new album, Guerra said he went beyond the familiar.
I always like, when we're making a record, to have a new challenge, he said in his native Dominican Spanish.

I do not like to repeat myself. That is what I always want to do, meet a new challenge. This record is very romantic but it maintains the essence of 440 with new things.

We have mambo-merengue, four merengues, two salsas, two bachatas and two acoustic tunes.
The first single is the title track, a mix of tropical styles from mambo to electronica.
That song has a lot of influences, Guerra said.

It has mambo, hip-hop, blues, rock. These are all influences I get as a rock-music listener. It is extremely danceable and has a very catchy rhythm.

He hopes the tune, which is also included in an English-language version ( Medicine for the Soul ), will help him break into new markets.
That song is really a different song, he said. We hope it will break barriers for us, especially with the two versions we recorded.

I think it has potential to reach new markets for us, to open doors in Japan, France, Italy, Europe and the United States.
Also strong are the tracks La Traviesa, with powerful horns and galloping percussion, and the sensuous salsa tune Te Contaran, about limitless devotion.
Italian jazz singer Chiara Civello performs a duet with Guerra on another English-language track, Something Good.

The smooth-singing Civello evokes memories of Carole King in her laid-back but emotional style.
Guerra and his 18-member 440 band plan to launch a major tour by late spring that will include the United States and most of Latin America.
In the early '90s, Guerra dominated the Latin charts with a series of hits including the brassy Como Abeja Al Pinal and the saxophone-spiced Bilirrubina.

The Dominican singer, composer and bandleader practically reinvented traditional merengue when he burst on the scene in 1990. He introduced sophisticated arrangements, poetic lyrics and jazz harmonies into the Caribbean genre.

The West Side All Stars are headlining the 25th annual Centro Cultural Aztlan Lowrider festival today at Mateo Camargo Park.

The band includes Joe Jama, Ernie Garibay, Louie Bustos, Spot Barnett, Al Gomez and Arturo Sauce Gonzalez. This year the festival is dedicated to the memory of late Chicano bluesman Randy Garibay. With the Poteet Strawberry Festival around the corner, the Poteet Saloon, which is right next to the festival grounds, will feature its usual strong lineup of Tex-Mex and country.

Here's the schedule: April 12, Scott Wiggins Band; April 13, David Lee Garza y Los Musicales, Roberto Pulido; April 14, Jay Perez, Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz; and April 15, Fito Olivarez, Bernardo y sus Compadres, Los Enmascerados, Grupo Maldad.
Saturday marked the 12th anniversary of Selena's death.
EMI Televisa is releasing a new CD/DVD compilation of hits titled Through the Years/A Traves de los A os, on Tuesday.

The double-disc package features unreleased tracks and footage as a retrospective of the slain singer's life.

San Antonio Express-News publish date April 1, 2007
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