Putumayo Presents: Republica Dominicana (2000)

«Putumayo's compilations are known for making unlikely choices; so when the label released a collection of Dominican music in 2000, it was safe to assume that the CD wouldn't emphasize the really big names in neo-merengue. And sure enough, Putumayo Presents: Republica Dominicana is hardly a collection of recordings by Olga Tanon (the top young female merengue star of the 1990s). This album isn't the place to go in search of the type of slick, high-tech neo-merengue that was incredibly popular among young Dominicans in the 1990s. Instead, Putumayo surprises us by emphasizing the Dominican Republic's earthier, less-produced bachata sounds. Though this CD contains a few examples of merengue (including the late Alberto Beltrán's "Caña Brava"), it pays a lot more attention to the bachata or bachata-son of such artists as Bolívar Peralta, Raulín Rodriguez, Juan Manuel, Juan Bautista, and Luis Vargas. "Los Bodegueros" is a 1999 bachata that finds veteran merengue singer Joseito Mateo joining forces with fellow Dominican legend Luis Kalaff and exalting owners of bodegas (small Latin corner groceries) as working-class heroes. The only piece on the CD that was recorded long before the 1990s is "Caña Brava" by Beltrán (b. 1923, d. 1997), who Cuban salsa lovers know for his work with La Sonora Matancera in the 1950s. If you've lived in an area with a large Dominican population and have spent any time listening to Latin stations that play a lot of tropical music, chances are you've heard the slicker, more electronic sounds of modern neo-merengue. However, if those airwaves haven't exposed you to a lot of bachata, Republica Dominicana can be a very nice revelation.»

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