this sampler compiles 14 killer tropical tracks for the dance floor, all taken from the vaults of peru s mag records, including cumbias to descargas, boogaloo to salsa.

an in-depth look at the 1970s catalogue of the uruguayan label macondo and the roots of subtropical music: bomba, cumbia, guaracha, merengue, porro, plena featuring 21 tracks by essential names such as sonora borinquen, conjunto casino, combo camagüey, sonora cienfuegos, grupo maracaibo, grupo antillano. set up in the port area of montevideo, macondo discos was founded by the chilean entrepreneur luis onel and named after the town from garcía márquez’s fictional universe. in its early days the label produced a catalogue comprising folk, tango, murga and rock. 1975 onwards, after the release of the lps tropical caliente by cienfuegos and exclusivo! by borinquen, marks the golden age of tropical music in our country according to carlos goberna, founder of sonora borinquen. macondo became a veritable tropical music factory in uruguay, amassing together with guacamayo (a sublabel dedicated to new artists) nearly 200 records in its ten years of existence.

good music and culture: rare latin sounds from across the americas

good music and culture: rare latin sounds from across the americas