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'Siembra' best-selling salsa album of all time
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When it came out in 1978, it rattled the salsa scene with the
power of a quake tipping 10 on the Richter Scale.
And then it shook it some more.
The legendary Fania Records album "Siembra," the biggest-selling salsa record of all time and the seminal recording by Willie Colon and Ruben Blades marks its 31th anniversary this year.
And fortunately for its followers, "Siembra" remains as fresh and relevant today as when fans listened to it for the first time in the late '70s.
But how's that possible, you may ask? What did they do that their sound has been so transcendental and universally appealing? Well, the powerhouse salsa duo's weapon has been the winning mixture of their innovative music combined with the literate, politically outspoken songwriting that sprang out from the multi-faceted Panamanian singer-songwriter and that ultimately reached a mass audience.
Before the historical Colon-Blades meeting, things were different in the global salsa scene. In the '60s and early '70s, the genre's trailblazers only had one thing in their minds – to send people to the dance floor. And what an excellent job they did, indeed.
Top salsa bands and artists of the era such as Eddie Palmieri, Richie Ray, Bobby Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and Fania All-Stars – to cite a few – adopted Afro-Cuban rhythms like son montuno, rumba and guaguanco one step further by adding jazzy elements, Nuyorican salsa and other Caribbean music strains into the already danceable blend, creating an explosive new sound that wowed the masses.
And this hodgepodge of Afro-Caribbean-Nuyorican music elements resulted in music driven by a strong rhythm and brass sections, spiced up with fiery vocal improvisations and sizzling instrumental solos.
So far, history has proved that the musical side of salsa at the time was – and has always been – a huge success.
Yet to an extent – lyrically speaking and prior to the arrival of the Blades-Colon alliance – the genre was still being developed. Mostly, the artists' emphasis was on offering danceable beats to die-hard salsa fans who would strut their stuff at any time, anywhere.
So naturally, it came that most of the lyrics only scratched the surface of serious social themes. True, they spoke of everyday life in the barrios, love, drugs, romantic disputes and patriotism, among others. But they seemed to not have played the same important role as music.
"Siembra," on the other hand, peppered salsa with meaning. It gave salsa a political edge and awakened a social consciousness throughout Latin America. Through the use of paraboles, metaphors and an envious imagery, Blades and Colon had an immense impact on the struggles of Puerto Ricans and other Latinos for the rights and recognition of a cultural identity, especially in the U.S.-based Latin communities.
For those who don't remember, anthemic songs such as "Plastico," "Pedro Navaja," "Buscando guayaba" and the set's title track mark the most important era in the Latin urban music movement ever and define a transcendental period in Latin music history.
Of course, there were many other influential songs cooked up by the duo in other discs such as "Juan Pachanga," "Pablo pueblo" and the anti-American "Tiburon," where Blades brought to life barrio characters who would call for unity in Latin America, blast U.S. foreign policy or support global social justice.
Overall, "Siembra" transformed salsa into a powerful vehicle of social commentary that until today still sounds fresh and inspiring.
So it's not surprising to see new generations of salsa fans today drawn to the work of these two musical geniuses who not only set a standard in the salsa world but revolutionized it like no other musician in salsa's history.
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