It's been a slow and sluggish season for Latin music releases. Major artists have released albums recently that are either dull (Gilberto Santa Rosa), redundant (Daddy Yankee), uninspired (Diego Torres), unbearable (RBD) or impenetrable (Juana Molina). But it's not hopeless. Here are a few albums that cut through the muggy summer of '06. -- Agustin Gurza
**
Classic sentiments, heartbreaking style
Alicia Villarreal
"Orgullo de Mujer"
(Universal Music Latino)
MEXICAN records are like tortillas. They're a staple of the Latin record business, but it's hard to find one that stands out.
So it feels like a feast to savor the latest entry by this veteran vocalist from Monterrey, Mexico's Seattle. This is straight-up mariachi music made the old-fashioned way, with the craft and beauty once associated with records stamped "Hecho en Mexico."
Villarreal's clear and heartfelt vocals avoid the screechy, weepy excesses that can mar this passionate country genre, which is not her first format. She started as lead singer with Grupo Limite, a popular combo playing \o7norteno\f7-style cumbias and ballads. Mariachi music is much more demanding in range, power and emotion, and Villarreal handles the challenge in her own style, with ease and grace.
But the secret to this album's strength is in the writing, and the credit there belongs to Joan Sebastian, one of Mexico's best country music composers and a star in his own right. With gorgeous arrangements, Sebastian taps the classic set of ranchera sentiment -- heartbreak, betrayal and the joy of getting even. He also taps his feminine side to give Villarreal a set that seems to come straight from the soul of a woman scorned.
In the obligatory kiss-off song, "El Rollito," Villarreal pretends to play the submissive woman who tells the man who dumped her that "I don't deserve your kisses." Until she gets to the punch line of the chorus: "I deserve something better."
She deserves the title of the album too: A Woman's Pride.
**
Quirky love letters are easy to fall for
Julieta Venegas
"Limon y Sal" (Sony BMG)
THIS beguiling singer-songwriter was the darling of Mexico's rock-en-espanol crowd until she went totally pop with her 2003 album, "Si." Overnight, she vaulted from alternative obscurity to mainstream success. Sellout, some said.
