La 33

Tagged with: La 33 salsa dura Bogota Colombia Pantera Mambo

The toughest, most swinging salsa crew around

Most young salsa-influenced bands coming out of the Latin world are overwhelmingly eager to mix and match styles, to liberally draw from predominant styles from elsewhere - a little reggaeton here, a little ragga there, a lot of hip-hop everywhere. Not so La-33. Instead, this 12-piece from Bogota churn out tough, gritty salsa from start to finish, all swinging horns and unbreakable rhythms. Not that they're a mere revival act, though, one unconcerned with moving tradition along. They're the product of 21st-century urban life, after all, as proved by their streetwise, youthful exuberance. Named after Calle 33, their home street in the Colombian capital (so refer to them as La Treinta y Tres rather than La Thirty-Three), their live shows are never anything less than barnstorming. Indeed, if these chaps treat us to their rip-roaring version of Henry Mancini's Pink Panther theme this weekend, expect the whole of Charlton Park to explode in a stampede of dancing moves. (womad.org)

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