Search - Los Olimarenos :: 20 Grandes Exitos

One of the truly legendary acoustic acts

Martin E. Stein | Palo Alto, Princeton, and abroad | 08/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Los Olimareños has pride of place in the hall of fame of Latin American folkloric music, and is NOT to be missed. I have long been surprised that so much of their work is out of print, but am happy to find Sony making some headway at documenting their long career. Jose Luis "Pepe" Guerra and Braulio Lopez hail from Uruguay, and channeled an absolutely breathtaking range of influences, in which one hears echoes of everything from Carlos Cardel's tango vocals to Andean syncopation and call-and-response. The genius of Olimareños was to take the mournful edge off these influences, and fill every verse with their firey dignity, leaving the other great singers who flourished in the Nueva Cancion era sounding positively meek in comparison. (Take for example Victor Jara and Silvio Rodriguez.) If you have never heard of Los Olimareños, hesitate not one second. There's a good chance after you do, you'll find yourself tracking down every disc of theirs you can from obscure Uruguayan websites."