The highly forgotten Father of Salsa music, Arsenio Rodriguez.

For this first post on "The Obscure Afro-Cuban & Carribean Music Collector" Blog, I though it would be most appropriate to start off with the Blind Tresero from Cuba, Arsenio Rodriguez. As Jan Fairley commented in "World Music Vol.2", Arsenio brought a musical revolution in Cuban Son by adding piano, trumpets and congas to the classic septet. The album that is reviewed here in particular is titled simply "Primitivo," which was released in 1968. Although according to Pablo Emilio Delvalle Arroyo (author of "Arsenio Rodriguez, Padre de La Salsa.")it was originally recorded as early as 1958 in New York City. The musicians on this must-have album are the following: Ramon Quian Sardinas (aka Monguito) as lead vocal, Davy Gonzalez as another lead vocal, Candido Antomattei as second vocal, Israel Berrios as second vocal & guitar, Agustin Caraballoso on trumpet, Johnny Malcom on trumpet, Arsenio Rodriguez on tres & overall musical director, Abelardo Chacon on timbal, and Israel Travieso Scull on the tumbadora (Arroyo). There are a total of 12 tracks on this album. They are:

1. La Pasion
2. Me Enganastes Juana
3. Lo Que Dice Justi (the only track not written by Arsenio, this one is by Justi Barreto)
   
4. Rumba Guajira
5. Coplas De Espana
6. Que Mala Suerte
7. Fiesta En El Solar
8. Me Equivoque Contigo
9. A Gozar Mujeres
10. No Lo Niegues
    
11. El Lema Del Guaguanco
12. Guaguanco De Puerta De Tierra

Standout tracks are #2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 & 11 (yes the album is damn near perfect!). All one has to do is listen to Coplas De Espana (track 5) where he leaves room for extended instrumental solos on his tres & you'll see why he is aptly named "El Ciego Maravilloso." Usually collectors can find one or two of his albums in a decent mega chain music store, though this particular album could be one of the harder albums to come by there. I would definitely recommend going to a local mom & pop Latin music shop in some barrio nearby that has a large Latino community, thereby increasing your chances of finding this excellent CD. Of Course there is the other option of looking online, but I always preferred supporting the small family-owned Latin-music shops which were so prominent back in the 70s -80s. So how about a family-owned Latin-music store that also sells online?, Check out www.edenmusicalrecords.com ( based out of Clifton, NJ.) for records of Arsenio Rodriguez (& any other Latin musician), & even if you don't see what your looking for, the owner, Ernesto will gladly get it for you. How is that for Service?!