Friday Chowí

God bless obsessive fans. It's the only reason that YouTube has as many Latin musical performances as it does.

Variety shows never went out of style in Latin America, so lots of groups performed on TV, providing a great visual archive of music and performers. That is, if the TV stations kept archives.

When I was trying to work on a doc on a Dominican musician a few years ago, we found out that it was nearly impossible to get archival footage, because tapes had either fallen apart, been re-used or simply damaged by heat and humidity.

But there are lots of VHS tapes taken off the air signal, lovingly dubbed and re-dubbed, and now on YouTube. I've actually become a connoisseur of sorts of the textures produced by various grades of decay.

I would date this video of "Pájaro Chowí" performed by Wilfrido Vargas y sus Beduinos to the late 70s by the width of the shirt collars and the circumference of the afros. This is the band almost at the height of its powers (which I think was 1980-1981), and a great example of all the lessons Vargas learned from salsa bands and dominicanized. Hard on the horns and letting the piano montuno anchor.

Vargas here is a great trumpet, backup voice and arranger (an informant just put Wilfrido's trumpeting in doubt). He didn't feel the need to take the central spotlight (a mistake he made later, just as Willie Colón did). Sandy Reyes' much sweeter voice does justice to the song.

My favorite part comes about 2:35, when "Yo estoy cantando" slows down the song and everything drops out except for a percolating piano, and discreet tambora and güira. And then the horns explode again. (Alas, the song cuts off).

Comments

[Mare Diaz]

Que recuerdos! I would've said this was taped on Puerto Rico's Show del Mediodia, but I think the song goes on for too long for that show. Either way, awesome performance. Los Beduinos at their best. Definitely late '70s.

[Caro]

Sto Dgo also has a "Show del Mediodía," which never seems to put a time limit on songs or skits.