Political Facets of Salsa

Author(s): Brittmarie Janson Perez

Source: Popular Music, Vol. 6, No. 2, Latin America (May, 1987), pp. 149-159
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/853418
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Political facets of salsa

BRITTMARIE JANSON PEREZ

1. Context
Lateat night, in a discothequein a LatinAmericancountrywhose politicalsystem is
dominated by the militaryand is not particularlyknown for its respect for human
rights, a crowd is dancingsalsa,a generictermcoveringCaribbeandance music. The
song is WillieColon's 'E1general'.1It startswith a roll of drum beats and a sarcastic
descriptionof the generalgetting up in the morningto put on his uniformand dictate
ordersto the president. A thrillof fifes follows and a stentoreanshout: 'Tothe right!'
The verse describes citizens as delighted not to have a free press and a dangerous
democraticsystem with its trickypoliticians.The militarygazette is very enjoyable
and it is reassuringto have a regimewhich puts men with strangeideas behind bars.
In the discotheque, the crowd continues dancing. The next stanzasays the generalis
rumoured to be about to retire:What will happen to the country and the people
without him? 'Fora long time I've wanted to thankyou,' is the refrain,'goodbye and
thank you, my general.'
By this time one of the dancersis consciouslyawareof the lyricsand wondering,
'whatkind of a song are we dancing to?'It is a long song which thanksthe generalin
the name of those who areno longer there, losdesaparecidos. A choruswhich startsby
asserting that there is no censorship in the country cleverly turns the refraininto a
denouncement:Censura!This is followed by the sounds of an execution. Someone
orders:'Aim . . . Fire!'A spatterof shots is heard followed by a militarymarchand
the ominous sound of a siren. Overa megaphone, a malevoice with a Chileanaccent
announces a curfew. The next stanzas are loaded with hypocriticalthanks to the jefe
supremofor all he has done for the people, for what he did for Pablo Pueblo, who
came home from the factoryto find his family missing. 'In the barriowe all toast the
general with rum and cold beer, waiting for the day he can rest,' the lyrics add.
Addressingthe general, the song continues:'Eitheryou retireor they retireyou, but
what a gloriousday thatwill be. How happy I am thatyou will go.. . . Goodbyelittle
general, tyrant of my life.'
The song is a dramaticcompositionwith bold sound effects and elements in the
verse with which people from many parts of LatinAmericacan identify. A proper
semiotic analysis is impossible here; oiqlya few examples can be given. A general
who dictates orders to the president is compatible with many past and present
regimesin Caribbeancountries. The missing, losdesaparecidos, are a characteristicof
dictatorships,but the termis most closely connectedwith the Argentineand Chilean
experiences. The general's early rise and his work routine are reminiscent of
Paraguayanradio newscasts which often startwith such reports. The apologia for
not having a democratic system is a standard one for military regimes in Latin
America.
149
150 JansonPerez
BritDmarie

This song, which was brought to my attentionby the dancerjust referredto, is

not unique. Thereis a trendin many contemporarysalsarecordingsto include one or
two topics, such as poverty and injusticein LatinAmericaor the oppression of Latin
Americansliving in the United States, and to present them as a product of corrupt
regimes, US imperialism, or capitalism. Denouncements of electoral fraud,
government censorship and officially-sanctioneddrug traffickingare among the
themes dealt with in salsaby Panamaniancomposerand singer Pedro Altamiranda.
The proclamationof nationalistcauses is seen in the work of other composers from
the Caribbeanregion. The range of issues is broad but the one whose social and
politicalimplicationsis rarely addressed is machismo.
The question of why 'El general' could be played under the particular
circumstancesjust described is a fascinatingone, but because the permissibilityof
aesthetic protest is heavily dependent on the country and the prevalent political
climate, it will not be broached here. Instead, I want to explore two broader
questions:why salsa,an eminently danceablegenre, is being used as a medium for
powerfulpoliticalmessages; and whether commercial,ideologicaland technological
impingements threaten salsa'ssurvival.

2. The genre
Politicshas rarelybeen absent from LatinAmericanmusic (Fairley1985).Mexico's
are well known. Puerto Rican composers voiced their indepen-
politicised corridos
dentist concerns in a few boleros, also a Latin Americandance genre.2The highly
committednuevacancion latinoamericanahas been amply documented (Fairley1984).
Salsadiffers from these, however, in that it is a large-scalecapitalist commercial
production, a consumer product aimed at all of Latin America and Hispanics
residing in the United States but which, nevertheless, contains critiques of
capitalismfromvariousviewpoints. The salsaof socio-politicalthemes is not the type
of protest song sung in demonstrations, rallies, or overtly political contexts. It is
protestembedded in everyday life: songs heard over the radioor record-player,and
music danced to at parties and in nightclubs or discos. The public is in a passive,
recipient situation in contrast with, for instance, the US blacks of the civil rights
movement who sang 'We Shall Overcome' in active resistance (Johnson Reagon
1983). This recipient relationship in popular music, between the product and the
consumer, should not be overemphasised, however, since in the end it is the
individualwho, in acceptingor rejectinga song, has the last say as faras commercial
success is concerned.3
The birth of salsawas the product of an eminently political event: the Cuban
Revolutionof 1959and the OAS boycott of the island which ensued. Until that time
Cubawas the undisputed centre of Caribbeanor Afro-Antilleanmusic. Commercial
production of popular music in Cuba for export was brought to an end by these
events and many prominentCubanmusicians, composersand singers emigratedto
the United States, where New York still had sufficient big bands to be able to
assimilatethe influx. Butthe finalend of the big band erawas in sight by the time the
Beatles swept the entire continent in 1964. US recordingcompanies had stopped
production of Cuban music several years before. Yet New Yorkwas the mecca of
LatinAmericanartists as well as the centre of large-scalemigration,not only from
Puerto Rico but from all CaribbeanBasin countries. Marginalisedin the new land
and consigned to an inferior status not unlike that of US blacks - many of the
 Political facets of salsa 151

emigrantswere black- the emigres settled in ghettos of their own, the barrio,
adjacentto slums such as Harlem. In New York the musical outcome was the
emergenceof barriomusic and musicians, of small ensembles which played for their
barriobrethrenand incorporatedinto theirmusic the sounds and dailyproblems,the
cacophony and violence of the urban slum (Rondon 1980, pp. 19, 32, 54). The
musicalroots of these compositions- which were in parta quest for affirmingethnic
identity- were eminently Cubanor Afro-Antillean.Theclave,a rhythmictime-lineof
3/2 or 2/3 over two beats, became the pattern not only for the re-interpretationof
alreadyexisting Caribbeanmusic, but also for new compositions (Singer 1983, pp.
189-91;Roberts 1980, p. 283). The use of traditionalinstruments such as congas,
maracas,guiros, bongos,the piano, plus trumpets and trombones- which were
emphasised to translate the sound of the barrio- was retained as an ideological
affirmationof the Caribbeanheritage. The new music was heavily indebted to the
highly syncopated Cuban son.
In the following years a most interestingphenomenon occurred:although salsa
was still not identified as such, the genre which started in New Yorkwas rapidly
taken up in the big cities of the Caribbeanin a spontaneous process, unconnected
with fashion or commercial promotion. Possibly this was because the need for
culturalidentificationfelt by the Latinsin alien New Yorkwas basicallythe same as
that of Caribbeanbarrioinhabitants;both lacked a musical expression to represent
them at a time when radio stations were playing the RollingStones and television
stations were dominated by canned IJS serials (Rondon 1980, p. 32).
By the early 1970ssalsareached its first stage of maturityin New Yorkand the
recordingindustry made its influence felt. Barriomusic was given a label, salsa,and
activelypromoted. The salsaboom which followed had its apex in 1974,fuelled by a
recordingenterprise, Fania, which came to dominate the salsamarket.
But the boom was double-edged. It gave employment to many LatinAmerican
musicians but the enterprise's efforts at 'crossing over' into the broader US and
European markets had negative effects. In general terms, 'crossing over' means
validating an economically, politically or racially subordinate culture before a
hegemonic culture. In this case the goal was commercial:to invade the lucrativebig
markets with salsa. For this effort to be successful, however, the enterprise's
executivesdeemed it necessaryto modify the genre. Forthe salsaindustryto become
really big-time and surpass the confines of the Latin consumers market, Fania's
managersfelt that they had to change salsa'simage radically.Frombeing the music
of the barrio,associated with poverty, delinquency and marginality,it had to be
polished and approximatedto the overwhelmingUS pop culture(Rondon1980,pp.
90, 98).
The salsaboom would increase sales but eventually it killed the music's feeling
and indeed its reason for being. Faniastartedproducingsupermarketmusic which
insistently and desperately denied the true essence of salsa and became a
Caribbean-typemusic disguised for 'gringo' consumption. An example of such
music is RhythmMachinereleased by Faniawith CBSin 1977(Rondon1980,p. 103).
Productions such as these were rejected by the Latin public. The boom was
exhausted in New Yorkby 1979, at which time Venezuela and Puerto Ricotook up
the slack.Butthe demand for new recordingresultedin very poorquality,overnight
productions which did not satisfy the public. Salsaseemed to be on its way out
(Rondon 1980, p. 237).
However, in keeping with RaymondWilliamsttheory of the flux of dominant,
152 Janson Perez
BritDmarie

Figure1 (a)RubenBladesand(b)PedroAltamiranda. known

No lesspopularthantheinternationally
RubenBladesin hisowncountry,Panamanian salsacomposer andsingerPedroAltamirandaaddresses
issuesin a numberof his albums.WhileBladestargetshis songsfor an international
socio-political
audience,Altamiranda focuseson problemsspecificto Panama.Thebowlerhatwitha widerhinestone
bandis his trademark.
 ofsalsa 153
facets
Political
emergentand residualelements in the culturalhegemonic process (Williams1985),
an emergenttrendarosewithin salsa- itselfthe productof an emergent,oppositional
and co-opted element- which was to give new life to the genre in the nick of time.
The downward slide of commercialsalsa was dynamicallybroken by what I here
term socio-politicalsalsa.
154 BritDmarie
Janson Perez

3. Ideology
As already noted, from its earliest days barriomusic contained a number of
compositionswhich in sound and themes provided a metacommentaryon poverty,
delinquency, oppression and domination. These themes were to a large extent
submerged during the salsa boom but once that boom waned they returned to
prominencethrough the contributionsof Willie Colon, CatalinoCuret Alonso and
RubenBlades. These and other figures each deserve more individualattentionthan
they can be given here. I have chosen to focus on Ruben Blades, who has played a
stellarrole in the introductionand popularisationof socio-politicalthemes in salsa
and whose co-productionwith ColOn,Siembra(Planting),became the best selling
salsarecordin 1979, when the end of the boom was in sight (Rondbn1980, p. 307)
A Panamaniancomposer and singer, lawyer and film star, who emigrated to
New Yorkin the early 1970s, Bladesappearsto have a two-fold mission. On the OT¢e
hand his musicalcompositionsaredirectedat LatinAmericain an effortto give Latin
Americansan identity and to raise theirpoliticalconsciousness. Ideologicallyhe has
identifiedwith the left in LatinAmericaand the left has iderltifiedwith hisn. On the
other hand, Blades seeks to represent Latin America in the non-Latinworld, to
validate the Hispanic presence and seek its rightful place in the order of things,
particularlyin entertainment
He contrasts in these efforts with Pedro Altamiranda, who is also a
Panamanian,has a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Paris, avldwhose
socio-political songs seek to capture the language and lifestyle of his fwllow
countrymen. Altamiranda is strictly fecused on hi5 country. He has described
himself politically as 'oppositional and anti-militaristic'and has refused offers to
enter into the glossy internationalentertainmentworld (Perez, forthcoming).
This, however, is the world in which Bladesis eminentlysucce$sful.In his quest
to give Latin Americans an identity and to unify them ideologically, he has been
triumphantand has become the idol of Latin Anlerican leftists and the public in
general.His songs have dealtwith the predicamentsof the £ommonman in Hispanic
Americaas well as of LatinAmericansliving in the United StateseHis most overtly
politicalalbum, BuscandoAmerica(Searching forAmerica),was released in 1984, after
Blades had done a stint with various salsaartistsand recordingcompanies in New
York, and had become the first Latin American artist to be signed by a U5
mainstreamlabel, Elektra/Asylum(Hamill1985 pP44). The songs deal with themes
such as emigration because of political repres$ion ('Caminos Verdes' - 'Green
Roads'); the assassination of SalvadorarlArchbishop Oscar Arnulfp Romero ('El
padreAntonio y el monaguilloAndres'- 'FatherAnthony and the acolyte, Andres');
his searchfor unity, identity and social and economicjusticein America('Buscando
America'- 'Searchingfor America');the secretpolice ('GBDB');difficultdecisions in
everyday life ('Decisiones' - 'Decisions'); and missing persons in dictatorships
('Desaparicidn'- 'Disappearance').
Previously recorded songs which gained him his outstanding position in
socio-politicalsalsa include 'Pablo Pueblo' ('Paul People'), to which Willie Colon
referred in 'El general', 'Pedro Navaja' ('Peter, the Switchblade'), and 'Juan
Pachanga'('Juan,the Playboy').
In his second objective, to make the Latin American presence felt in the
internationalentertainmentworld (or 'crossing over', which is the subject of his
second film, Crossover Dreams,released in 1985),Bladeshas been no less successful.
 Political facets of salsa 155

Hehas received extensive media coverage in the US, been featuredon the cover of
NezvYorkmagazine (19 August 1985) and CurrentBiography(May 1986) and been
written up in other publications too numerous to mention. His US television
appearanceshave included interviews on the JohnnyCarsonShowand 60Minutes.He
hasbeen on several world tours, appearedas an opening starin a concertgiven by
JoeJacksonin Baltimorein 1984and at the OlympiaMusicHall in Parisin May 1986.
Asan actorhe has appearedin two films and is in two more scheduled to be released
in 1987:'ContinentalDivide,'directedby MichaelApted and co-starringwith Richard
Pryor,and 'TheMilagroBeanfieldWar,'directed by RobertRedford (Blades 1986).
His unqualified success in 'crossing over' (he himself dislikes the term and
prefers to use 'convergence') (CurrentBiographyMay 1986, p. 13) may ultimately
jeopardisehis other role, that of addressing Latin America. To be lionised in the
heartof capitalism,starringin Hollywood productions,and being selected as one of
the ten sexiest men of the yearby Playgirl(September1986,reportedin Panamaby La
Prensa10 August 1986,p. 22B)may place him in the situationof playinga discrepant
role (Goffman1959). That is to say, his loyal LatinAmericanconstituents may ask
how, if he represents oppositional sectors, can he be so applauded by the culture
which dominates them? In the United States he has announced his intentions of
puttingColombianNobel Prizewinner GabrielGarciaMarquez'storiesto music and
to compose an albumentirelyin English, singing calypsounder a new name, 'not his
own persona but in that of an alter ego, "PanamaBlades"(CurrentBiography1986,
p. 13). In a Panamaniantelevision interview he announced that he would recorda
two-albumseries of songs for Panamaand by Panamaniansand omittedmention of
his plans to make the English-languagerecord (Blades, opuscit.).
Bladeshas explained his cinematographiceffortsto his constituents- who may
some day become his real constituents as he has announced at varioustimes that he
may enter into the Panamanianpolitical arena - in the following terms:
Rightnow I am in the United States helping to end the stereotypeof the Latinin the United
States and also helping the 20 million Latinswho live in that country for many reasons but
generallybecause of the opportunitiesit affords. [Iam in the United States]also for economic
reasons, to make my life more possible to maintain once I return to Panama. [The latter]
becausein situationswhere you areeconomicallycontrolled,money is freedom.Thatwill give
me an opportunitywhen I returnto Panamanot to have to ally myselfwith discreditedgroups
and to see in what way I can do my workhere. (Blades,opuscit.)

Blades' situation has been discussed here because it is relevant within the
frameworkof Williams' previously cited work. More will be said about this in a
moment. Within salsa, the success of Blades' socio-politicalsongs has attracteda
largenumberof imitators.Some songs, such as WillieColon's 'Elgeneral'are of the
same quality as Blades' own best productions, while others, such as the work of
PedroAltamiranda,is of an entirely differentnatureand follows differentaims. But
therearemany imitatorsof a vastly inferiorquality,characterisedby tritethemes and
virtually inaudible lyrics. Oscar D'Leon, for example, a Venezuelan salsa star,
recently released an album which contains two socio-politicalthemes, one on the
errantstreet boy and another on poverty, which are wholly lacking in originality,
feeling and clarity.4In the end, commercialenterprisesand imitatorsmay kill off the
authenticityand attractivenessof socio-politicalsalsa.In other words, again, what
was once a brave ideological and artisticeffort may be co-opted by commercialism.
The question which now arises is: What is going to happen to salsa?Such
importantfigures as Willie Colon and Elias Lopez have commented on its current
156 BrtttmarteJanson Perez

t lC >;X5+a
Figure2. ThecoverofPanamanian PedroAltamiranda's
composer album,Ve!(1985),rekrredtoa song
government
whichattacked censorship. werea messagetotheNational
Boththesongandtheillustration
CensorshipBoardwhichhadfrequentlybarredAltamiranda's songsfrombeingplayedovertheradio.
thenolesspoliticalalbum,Banode Pueblo(1986),wasnotsubjected
Subsequently, toanyrestrictions
by theboard.

problems (Extra8 August 1986, p. 12). If its themes are played out, are there other
resourcesthatcan preventthis genre fromfallinginto the musicalfossil pit of tangos,
boleros and other past Latin American genres which are heard today only for
reasonsof romanticnostalgia?If one looks to eitherideology or technologyto rescue
the genre, there is little cause for optimism for the following reason: ideology is
constrainingtechnology.

4* Technology
The very affirmationof ethnic identity in the face of a dominant,hegemonicculture
led earlyand latersalsacomposersand arrangersto eschew electronicmusicand rely
forthe most parton traditionalinstrumentswith which they were morecomfortable.
It was believed that the purity of Latinmusic would be lost to a technology which
was essentiallycapitalistic.Butthe use of traditionalCaribbeaninstrumentsand the
cautiousintroductionof electronicmusic into salsahave resultedin a sound which is
anachronisticfrom the viewpoint of today's stereophonicrecordplayers, equipped
as they are to transmitsounds which are farbeyond the rangeof these instruments,
particularlyin the bass. In the opinion of informed individuals whom I have
interviewed, salsasimply cannot compete in sound with rockmusic. The model for
those who advocate change is the MiamiSound Machine,a group of musiciansof
Cubanorigin who seem to have been successful in the crossoverquest. They were
recent guests at the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty,have played for President
Reaganin Miamiand in festivalsin Chile, Peru,CostaRica,Mexico,and a numberof
other LatinAmericancountries(Suplemento El Buho8 August 1986,p. 15). Although
retaining a Latin beat, the Miami Sound Machine is contemporaryin its use of
electronic instruments. Its clientele in Latin America is formed by a younger
generation more in tune with rock, computers and arcade games than with the
 Political tacets
ofsalsa 157

legacies of the past. On the other hand, this musical group is anathema to the
nationalistleft.
This war of ideology embedded in technology is felt at another level, that of
composers. Tille Valderrama,a Panamaniancomposer and arrangerwho has a
degree fromBerkleeMusic College in Boston, expresses the frustrationfelt by some
contemporarycomposers in LatinAmerica.He feels that salsais becoming obsolete
because of the stricturesof those who dominate its commercialproduction(as, for
example, in their insistence on keeping the claverhythm for the sake of the dancers
who, if the rhythm were changed, might reject it). Additionally, they eschew the
richnessof what Valderramacalls the Americandrum set and areextremelyhesitant
to use electronicmusic (Valderrama,personal communication).
The whole issue has become ideological:to use electronicmusic or to change the
rhythmis felt to be as much a betrayalof the cultureas what Faniaenterprisesdid to
the originalsalsa.If Bladesuses electronicmusic or changes the rhythmit is accepted.
If other composers do it, it is ideological treason.

5. Conclusions
We can see, therefore, that the history of salsahas been one of fluctuationbetween
emergenceand co-optationby capitalism.I have not said 'by the dominant culture'
because that is what the whole issue of 'crossingover' involves. Whetheror not salsa
or the issues raisedin socio-politicalsalsawill be acceptedby the publicwho are part
of the hegemonic culturesis very open to question. It may depend on the success of
the efforts of Blades or someone else, or upon the emergence of yet another saving
lifeline. What seems to be clearis that the whole process of the dominant culture's
absorptionof emerging or oppositional elements is very complex. On the one hand
there are purely commercialefforts to exploit emergent trends. On the other, one
sees individuals from emergent trends or subordinatecultures seeking validation
through inclusion in the dominant stream. 'Crossing over' may be done with a
numberof intents and poses a thornyproblem.An artistmay seek to have his ethnic
grouprepresentedin the world's entertainmentfield and be very successfulin doing
so. On the other hand, he may run the risk of losing his constituencyfor failing to
representthem ideologically.The whole process ofithe emergentbeing absorbedby
the dominant may thus be seen as an active one on the part of both sides - with
certainqualificationsand intents on the partof both- ratherthan as a one-way path
in which the dominant makes use of and manipulatesthe subordinate,emergentor
oppositional.
Anotherquestion concernsthe use of an eminently danceablegenre to transmit
powerful politicalmessages. It is here suggested that in the Caribbeanand regions
influencedby the Caribbeancultures, dance music is a privilegedgenre. Not only do
the cultures which make up this region fall roughly within what Ong calls oral or
residuallyoralculture (Ong 1982, pp. 171, 45), but there is a strongAfricanheritage
whose musical traditions, e.g. the heavy use of drums and syncopation, may also
privilege dance music as an aesthetic communicative genre. As Rondon (1980,
p. 233) explains:
As far as the Caribbeanis concerned, far from entailing a sacrificeto dance, music always
entailedan emphasis on dance. It is not a questionof fallinginto the mediocreclassificationof
makingmusictodanceto;it is simply thatmusic, with all its virtues,innovations,and variations
has dance implicitin it. In this partof the world there is no sense in makingmusic that is not
danceable.
158 BritEmarieJanson Pe'rez

As far as salsa is concerned, it is not difficultto conceive of a politicalmessage

being successfullytransmittedwhen heardat home, over the radioor record-player;
it is much more difficultto assess its effectivenessin a socialcontext,when a crowdis
enjoying itself drinking and dancing.
Thereis more than one way to approachthis subject.One can draw on Maurice
Bloch,who declares'you can'targue with a song', because it involves abandonment
of the freedom of natural discourse, and no argument or reasoning can be
communicated(Bloch 1974, pp. 71, 62). In this particularcontext the implications
might be that the recipients of socio-politicalsalsa receive and accept the message
without question. Alternatively, a view held by several research assistants and
recordsalesmen is that people go along with the music and eitherdo not listen to the
words, or listen to them selectively. The implicationhere is that the politicaleffect
upon listeners is slight.
However, both the dancer who brought 'El general' to my attention and the
largenumberof Blades'followers seem to indicatethat some individualsdo listen to
the lyricsand others, being ideologicallyattuned to a particulartrend or identifying
with a particulargenre, are indeed highly conscious of the lyrics, even when
dancing.
Lastly, one may think of the recipientsof the messages of socio-politicalsalsain
terms of Freudianpsychoanalytic theory:
In the same way tunes that come into one's head without warning turn out to be determined
by and belong to a train of thought which has a right to occupy one's mind though without
one's being aware of its activity. It is easy to show then that the relation to the tune is based on
its text or origin. (Freud 1977, p. 108)

Fromthis perspective one could imagine that there is ideologicalpenetrationof

the listener who, whether he listens to the lyrics or not, is unwittingly having his
. .

consclousness ralsec ..
The answer to this question may include all three of these opinions. It is hard to
argue with a song and song thereforehas a great deal of force. Many people do not
pay attention to the lyrics, but it is possible that the lyrics may penetrate their
subconscious. Otherpeople identify with the lyricsor with a particularideology and
for them the song has the greatest force. Additionally, if we are dealing with a
culturein which dance is not only a comfortablebut indispensable and traditional
component, the fact that a politicalmessage is embedded in a dancing song should
not affect these various conditions of receptiveness just discussed.

Endnotes
1 The same recordingcontains a song protesting
against nucleararms, 'La era nuclear'.
2 These were by Puerto Rican composers Rafael
Hernandez, Noel Estrada and Daniel Blanco.
Pagano(1985)notes that these caused a polemic
in their time but, actually, the lyrics are quite
mild compared to today's socio-politicalsalsa
lyrics.
3 Acompletehistoryofsalsa'sevolutionisbeyond
the purview of this paper. Additionallythe job
has alreadybeen done in masterfuldetailby the
Venezuelanmusicologist,CesarMiguelRondon
(1980).Duany (1984)has also written an excel-
lent paperon the anthropologyof salsain Puerto
Rico which gives more attention to the musical
aspects of salsathan will be given here.
4 Thetwo songs are'NihoJesusde la Calle'('Child
Jesus of the Streets') and 'Pobre Pedro' ('Poor
Peter'), released in 1986 on the record, Oscar
D'Lein 86.
 Politicalfacets of salsa 159

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Current Biography, 1986. 47:5 (May), pp. 10-14
Duany, J. 1984'Popularmusic in PuertoRico:towardan anthropologyof salsa', Latin AmericanMusic
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Extra (Panama)8 August 1986, p. 12
Fairley,J. 1984.'Lanueva cancionlatinoamericana',Bulletinof LatinAmericanResearch,3:2,pp. 107-115
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Discographicalnotes
Altamiranda,Pedro. 1985. Ve! Sonomundi84644(Panama).(Cassette)
1986.Bano de pueblo. Sonomundi SMN 001-85(Panama).(Cassette)
Colon, Willie. 1984. Criollo. RCA;also Sonolux 05(05151)02041(Colombia).
D'Leon, Oscar. 1986. Oscar D'Leon. THC-014.(Distributedby TH Records& Tapes, Inc., 10124NW.80
Ave., Hialeah Gardens, Florida33016)

(ForRuben Blades, see review by Mike Gonzalez, p. 252)