Drume Negrita

Ry Cooder & Manuel Galbán - Drume Negrita (from Mambo Sinuendo, 2003)

I just got home after a very nice Midsummer weekend out in the middle of nowhere (the cottage pictured above) with an hour's walk to nearest neighbour. Enjoying top notch barbeque, relaxing with the birds and fighting with the midges as well as two days of superb canoeing. This boy's summer vacation got off to great start to say the least!

Here is some laidback Cuban surf music to accompany our lovely summer weather of late. Ry Cooder doesn't need to much introduction I guess (I have even mentioned him on a previous post here), and here he is with a instrumental spin-off project from his sessions with the Buena Vista Social Club. Manuel Galbán were in the 1950's part of the great vocal group Los Zafiros, who I will return to shortly on a second installement of Latino Delights.

Drume Negrita is a classic Afro-Cuban lullabye that has been recorded countless of times. While doing some research I found several nice versions on YouTube, among others the great Omara Portuondo's take from last year. Portuondo was one of the elderly artists that deservingly saw restored stardom after the Buena Vista reunion that Cooder helped to organize in the late 1990's. Check out Breath of life's translation of the lyrics if your Spanish is as rusty as mine.