Mambo Santa Mambo: Christmas From the Latin Lounge
You could learn to mambo for that upcoming New Year's Eve party. Or you could pick upMambo Santa Mamboand get that bad groove before its 18 tracks are over. Packed with delights and surprises, it mines the past 40 to 50 years of prime-time Latin Christmas tunes--complete with campy, cheesy, and cool Yuletide vocals--and succeeds mightily. Who could resist the outrageous Billy May & His Orchestra's version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," or the young and innocent Augie Rios asking "Donde Esta Santa Claus?" Knock-out vocal performances from Latin queenCelia Cruz("Jingle Bells"  and "El Cha Cha Cha De La Navidad"), plus the Enchanters' great holiday update  ofLou Bega's recent hit  ("Mambo Number 5," here called "Mambo Santa Mambo") make this a must-have disc for a trulyfeliz Navidad.--Martin Keller