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AFTER 15 years of making hit albums, performing to sellout crowds, and bringing the musical vibes from the Hispanic Caribbean to the world, Latin superstar Gloria Estafan has once again found a way to outdo herself.
Gloria's latest Spanish-language disc Alma Caribena perhaps can be best described as a splendid fusion of Cuban rhythms from the Caribbean with other grooves from South America and North America.
Alma Caribena which translates to "Caribbean Soul," boasts a scintillating array of Caribbean hybrids that expertly melds sounds from Cuba, Puerto Rioco, the Dominica Republic and Panama. Gloria points out that on the lovely mid-tempo entry Como Me Duele Perderte, "there is a Mexican writer, a Colombian arranger, and the song has a Dominican melody line with a Cuban percussion base. So that ,a nutshell, that tells you what this record is about."
Alma Caribena also is about a passionate vocal side of Gloria that was inspired by her Cuban cultural and a familial roots, as well as her deep familiarity with the emotionally-charged, love songs, including Me Voy and Dame Otra Oportunidad. Gloria's standout renditions of such future classics as No Me Dejes De Quere and Por Un Beso were achieved because, as she tells it:
"I approached it in a totally different way. I almost imagined myself back in my grandma's kitchen, playing my guitar for her and just emoting. And before I went into the studio, I made these songs mine - I learned...