Since the 1970s, "salsa" has been a popular, widely used term for Afro-Cuban music. It's a term that some Cubans dislike, but it's a convenient, practical umbrella term that can refer to son, guaguanco, cha cha, mambo, danzon, pregon, guaracha, and other Afro-Cuban styles and rhythms. Salsa can refer to sweet charanga bands or hard-swinging conjuntos. Because
Sierra Maestra's forte is son, it is technically a salsa band, although members of the Cuban band shy away from that term. (In fact, Cubans have a saying: "salsa is what I put on my food, not what I listen to".) Although
Maestra was formed in the late '70s, the Havana-based outfit has specialized in the type of classic son one would have heard in Cuba in the '20s, '30s and '40s. Not every song on
Dundunbanza! goes back to that pre-Fidel Castro era -- "Juana Peña," for example, is a gem that
Willie Colon recorded in the late 1970s. But many of them do, including Ignacio Piñeiro's "Bururú Barará" and the
Arsenio Rodriguez classics "Dundunbanza," "El Reloj de Pastora," "Kila Kike y Chocolate," and "Cangrejo Fue a Estudiar." This CD isn't the least bit innovative, but it's thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. ~ Alex Henderson