A friend recently asked me the name of this song and I thought back about how many people have asked me about this tune. It has become a classic in its own time. This is one those salsas that is appropriate for the dance floor, the car radio, and the iPod while you jog. In either case, it will get those feet moving.
Actually, Orquesta Guayacan is one of the premier musical acts from Colombia. Colombia is up there with Puerto Rico and Cuba when it comes to the Salsa genre so its not uncommon for groups like this to emerge from there, but there are not many that attain world-wide notoriety, like these guys.
I remember back in the nineties, there was a fierce rivalry between this group and another mega band from the country of the “cafeteros”, Grupo Niche. Both of these bands will be featured in a Latin Rhythmz Featured Artist Profile very soon.
Without further a do… here is ‘Ay Amor, Cuando Hablan las Miradas’
As we mentioned before, the marquis Salsa event in Des Moines has been extended for another couple of months. After having a great farewell event in July, The Hotel Fort Des Moines had made a decision to stay open a couple of months longer and asked us to host two more Salsa nights.
Mark those calendars and join Caliente and Latin Rhythmz on September 12 and October 10 at the Hotel Fort Des Moines! Latin Rhythmz will be providing the music. There will be a complimentary dance lesson at 8 PM and we’ll open up the dance floor from 9 PM to 1:30 AM.
Look for further information coming up soon. If you have questions you can email me here.
Oh man, this is one of the first Salsas that I can remember dancing to. I remember thinking “Damn! This is some good music!” In true “Colombian” form this song will definitely get your feet moving! The singer has a Oscar D’Leon or Kike Harvey voice… smooth, but raspy and nasal. The rhythm is catchy and has a super cool, marching-band-like intro before they lay down a basic Latin percussion beat with an abbreviated brass section (just a few trumpets and trombones) and finally a baritone sax accenting the beat of the song… beh-beh, beh-beh, beh-beh. This song was a Salsa club staple in old school NYC… here is Quiereme…
These fairly new comers to the bachata scene don’t really deviate too much from the usual “Aventura-esque” or Xtreme sound filling the mainstream of this genre lately. This song is probably about six months from it’s original release and it’s pretty entertaining… one of those you find yourself singing the chorus of, on the way to work. Anyway, check it out…
Those of you who have frequented Latin Rhythmz’ events know that Victor is no stranger to my playlists. I have followed Mr Manuelle from his first record ‘Justo A Tiempo’ to his current effort ‘Soy’. His debut album was certainly a far cry from his later works. It was missing a few things, like his trademark “e-e-e-e-h” as well as a true hit song. There were however, some flashes of brilliance.
His sophomore disc ‘Solo Contigo’ cleared any doubt in my mind that this guy was going to be a bona fide star. The first single from this album, ‘Apiadate De Mi’ slowly but surely became a smash hit in the Salsa world. I don’t think that throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, there was ever a dance party where someone who knew their salsa, would not ask me for this song. ‘Solo Contigo’ went on to produce the hits ‘La Escena’, ‘Te Llevo Dentro’ and ‘Voy a Prometerme’.
Before I go on with more of his discography, I thought I’d tell you a little bit about what it was about the Victor Manuelle sound that drew me to his music. Victor is known as “El Sonero de la Juventud”. Aptly called this because of his allure to the younger generation because of his smooth voice, the energy of his music which inevitably causes your hands to make the maraca motion that you see him do in many of his videos, etc. But perhaps, more importantly, the musicality of his songs transcends (or at least it did in his earlier work, in my opinion) the instruments and the voice. His ‘sonero’ ability is remarkable inasmuch as, if you really listen to his work, you will notice a careful attention to the lyrics really filling out the bars of the music. This is a little difficult to express in words, but what I mean is that his lyrics seem to be like musical notes themselves. I am not musically trained, but with almost 20 years of experience in the Latin DJ world, I think I can say that many artists have a lyrical pattern that is noticeably separate from the instrumentation. It’s almost as if the lyrics are an after thought. Being a true sonero, Victor writes lyrics that fit just right… again, as if his voice were one of the instruments (all I can say is imagine listening to a song where random instrument notes were not played.) I digress…
Rather than continue on with a wordy homage to each and every one of Victor Manuelle’s albums, I thought I’d pick a few of what I think are his best songs and let you be the judge. You may just wind up with all his records too. Here are my bangin’ Victor Manuelle smash hits (in random order): But first, check out one Victor’s most popular songs…
VICTOR MANUELLE FAVORITES
1. Que Habria Sido De Mi
2. Apiadate De Mi
3. Instinto y Deseo
4. Tengo Ganas
5. Hay Que Poner El Alma
6. Al Igual Que Yo
7. Llore, Llore
8. Si La Ves
9. Por Ella
10. En Nombre De Los Dos
11. El Tonto Que No Te Olvido
12. Te Propongo
13. Asi Es La Mujer
14. He Tratado
15. No Hace Falta Nada
