DESCRIPTION:
Los Pleneros de la 21 perform "Carmelina," a traditional plena in tribute to the great plenero Marcial Reyes Arvelo, a founding member of the group and author of the piece. Jose Rivera, in his singing, places himself firmly in the classic school of the plena, referencing pleneros who influenced his musical upbringing. By including this version with panderetas (different sized circular frame drums), and a güiro (gourd rasp) Los Pleneros de la 21 give the listener the opportunity to taste the fresh, simple, and wonderful flavors or the traditional creole plena.

'Para Todos Ustedes' is available on CD and digital.

Stream/download/purchase:
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/los-pleneros-de-la-21/para-todos-ustedes/latin-world/music/album/smithsonian
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/304SxpX0NsaNayS1gAAhn5?si=uIISt1kSS6OBi1oivER73Q

It’s all about cultural roots: on this record, the presence of the décima (a ballad-like song form often philosophical in nature) and the pasodoble (a fast Spanish dance that introduces a bull fight and the entrance of the bull fighters) reflects the cultural association of the majority Puerto Ricans to their Spanish colonial past. A plena (humorous, satirical song of the "common man") is distinctly Puerto Rican. A guaracha (an old-fashioned Afro-Cuban street dance) ties Puerto Ricans to their Afro-Caribbean heritage.

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