Friday Cuco

Cuco Valoy is one of the few Dominican musicians in the pre-Juan Luis Guerra era who became relatively well-known outside the island. This was because, despite surviving the Trujillo regime by writing several pro-Trujillo songs (artists during the Trujillo era were de facto obligated to praise the dictator, lest they be tagged subversives), he ran into trouble with Balaguer and spent a chunk of the repressive "Doce Años" (1966-1978) abroad.

Cuco's bands Los Virtuosos, Los Ahijados and La Tribu produced some of the best funky merengue and Afro-Dominican music of the 1960s and 1970s. He was also pretty versatile, and became known as a salsero and sonero. He is still around, and as one of the original Black baldies, he still looks great -- he must've made a pact with the devil or something (it's not for nothing one of his nicknames is El Brujo).

Below is a 1980 video with Los Virtuosos (or is it La Tribu?). Trip out on the psychedelic stage set and funkadelic hair and suits. Thanks to AfriColombia for putting us in a Cuco mood.

[Pix of first show by Los Ahijados in 1958 via costumbresdominicanas.blogspot.com; 2001 photo via musicintheair.org]