Album Notes

Patino Vazquez´s CD "el Mundo Dulce" is an energetic, tuneful and innovative blast of Latin Sounds and rhythms that he originally recorded as a gift to his family living in Cuba.

He had been playing guitar in rock bands until about 1993, when friends gave him a tape of Cuban artists. Vazquez fell in love with the music, made an exploratory visit to the island, and threw all his energy into learning the rhythms of the nueva trova.

Vazquez was able to re-create the cuban melodies and rhythms, but opted to carve out his own sound, drawing on some of his other influences. Almost all of the songs are in Spanish, a commercially risky move since some of the catchier tunes sound like the stuff of potential crossover radio hits.

Vazquez is secure in his decision not to sing in English. "I did it for my own emotional well being," he says. "In spanish you can get away with saying things that you can´t say in English. "Sincerity is not frowned upon like it is here in the states. That is part of the reason why I had to break away from playing rock music." The opening tune "Origenes"("roots"), proclaime Vazquez´s joy at re-claiming his Cuban roots. The only cut in English is "Y2k", a structurally complex tune that is a gentle parody of people´s fears for the new millennium.

At the end of the CD is "Tawiri" a track that is all percussion and moaning voices and sounds more like an authentic field recording than something recorded in Boston. Vazquez, who in addition to playing guitar and tres plays a multitude of percussion instruments. "Cuba is the only place where African slaves were allowed to keep their drums. Because of that, there are over 48 rhythms that have developed, most of which people in this country have never heard before."