Radio Latino
Radio Latino is devoted to modern, tightly-produced tracks by Latin artists who understand the impact of a hook. Based upon past hits by Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Carlos Santana, Gloria Estafan, Marc Anthony, and even Madonna, almost any one of these selections could prevail quite nicely on the American pop charts, if not for the fact that the performers have not yet achieved the requisite marketing profile. But Madrid-born, Miami-based Javier Garcia’s playfully salacious "Me Gustaria" ("I Would Like"), with its studiedly silly frill of hip-hop, would get feet moving anywhere, as would the louche, droll "Vagabundo"("Vagabond"), originally recorded in the fifties by Trio Los Panchos and now revived by Uruguay’s Martin Buscaglia. Costo Rico, from Barcelona, achieve a frisky mix on "Por Esos Mares" ("By These Seas"), described in the liner notes as a meeting between flamenco-plus-reggae but sounding more like party time in Rio. Meanwhile, Orishas (named for the sacred pantheon of the Christian and African-based Cuban Santeria religion) wield rap, beats and samples on "Reina de la Salle" ("Queen of the Street"), an anti-prostitution diatribe.--Christina Roden