Santa Morena

Latin Beat Magazine, August, 1997 by Gilbert Rivera

LA CALLE

In recent years, a deluge of Cuban salsa music has been making its way across the Atlantic to the shelves of record shops throughout North America. This phenomena is perhaps due in part to the popularity of the musical style known as songo, a highly syncopated Afro-Cuban rhythm which incorporates influences from American rock, funk, and jazz. This fusion of Cuban and American rhythms makes for a more free-form dance style, easier for everyone to enjoy. Bands such as Los Van Van and NG La Banda are some of the pioneers of this style. Today, in a post-songo era, there are hundreds of these bands; the musicians are younger;the fashions are street hip hop; the music is youth-friendly, and they all strive for popularity at home and abroad.

La Calle is one of these bands from Cuba that has already paid its dues at home and is ready to take on the world. Santa Morena is the title of their debut CD for international distribution on the Bembe Records label (out of Redway, California). Lead by bassist Ramon Hernández, La Calle blends modern harmonies with solid traditional rhythms, making them extremely popular with the dancers of Havana's nightclubs for some years now. Listening to La Calle is hearing what they've been dancing to in Cuba for the last couple of years.