Caricia

Latin Beat Magazine, Dec, 1998 by Luis Tamargo

OLGA MILLA

Caricia

(OM)

Oscar Stagñaro, Paquito D'Rivera's talented bassist, was the one who turned me on to the refined music of Peruvian songstress Olga Milla, via her self-produced U.S. recording debut. I shall be forever grateful to Paquito's Peruvian sidekick for allowing me to discover New Jersey's best kept musical secret: Milla is the soothing and sultry personification of the vals, the most sublime expression of Lima's cultural wealth. More than any other musical idiom from the left coast of Latin America, the Peruvian vals has crossed multiple continents and oceans. It has even served as inspiration in the sax life of Stagañaro's employer, while influencing other Cuban legends (currently residing in el barrio de los acostados), such as the well-fed chansonier Bola de Nieve and the phenomenal rumbero Virgilio Martí, who had the audacity to tastefully transform a classic vals into a full-fledged guaguancó.

It must be clarified that Milla is not merely a passionate and admirable valsera (not to be confused with balsera). Okay, perhaps she did not sail on a raft to Key West, but she certainly knows how to navigate through the counterpuntual waves of the marinera, Lima's own slippery canto de ida y vuelta. Milla is even capable of venturing beyond the boundaries of the Peruvian capital, in order to explore other coastal and Andean styles of rural or semi-rural origin.

Credit must be given to Milla's sidemen, who provide the ideal framework for her magnificent vocals by establishing the required dialogue of Iberian-derived strings and African-rooted cajones, among other things. If you're into the coastal music of Perú, you must get hip to Olga Milla.