Mi Campana - Marco Toro y su Ensamble

Artist: Marco Toro y su Ensamble

Name of CD: Mi Campana

Release Date: February, 2010

Mi Campana (My Cow-bell) is the third Salsa music album produced by Marco Toro and released by Medusa Records. The swinging Salsa tracks on the album are quite irresistible. There is a lot of Venezuelan Salsa, Cuban Timba and ‘Salsa Antillana’ swing to the 10 tracks making it possible for Salsa dancers of all Salsa dance styles to break loose on the dance floor. 

 If you are dancing Salsa On1, On2 Mambo, Salsa On3, Cuban Casino, Salsa Callejero, or Ballroom/Latin: ‘Mi Campana’ will surely make you dance the night away! The Campana Toro refers to is not the commonly known basic music instrument of a Salsa ensamble. He uses the term to indicate a type of solo-drum from the Afro Venezuelan music tradition, the drum of San Milán. “This band revived traditional black music “(Medusa Records 9252). The musicians of Marco Toro y su Ensamble  not only play ‘typical’ Salsa, but they also explore new directions by incorporating 2 Jazz themes to the album. The Cha-cha-cha  song ‘Cha pa’ Caracas’ has a very notable jazz influence. And the same goes for the spicy and fast-paced Latin Jazz of the entirely instrumental song ‘El Viaje’. Another new and refreshing direction in the band’s repertoire is the catchy song  ‘Reggaeton y Tambora’. This Salsatón (a combination of Salsa and Reggaeton music) has the true potential of  becoming a big hit in the coming summer.

The Venezuelan born and Amsterdam (Holland) based Marco Toro opens his album ‘big time’ with the Salsa song: ‘Que Chévere’ (‘How Great’). I find it to be a very addictive Mambo/Salsa Dura, good  for dancing On2 Mambo, and the song is also excellent for choreographing a world class Mambo dance routine on it. The second song (and the album’s title) ‘Mi Campana’ is a combination of Salsa Antillana, Cuban Timba, and a Descarga. I find this song to be a true master piece and worthy of being the ‘flag song’ of the album. ‘El Bocón’, a pure Salsa Antillana/Venezolana, warns about the manipulative men with slippery tongs. I find the song ‘Concentración’ very suited to teach and dance Mambo and Cuban Casino. ‘No me Critiques’ (one of my favorites) is a song which is tailor made for the ‘smooth’ Salsa, Son Montuno, and Mambo dancers. When hearing ‘Yculaguala’ you can’t resist asking  your friends to come and dance a Rueda de Casino together on the dance floor. But watch out for the breaks!  ‘The album ends with the ‘Medley Toro # 2’, which is a roller coaster ride along all of these wonderful songs.

To conclude: I find  the album ‘Mi Campana’ to be a ‘must have’ for dancers of all Salsa dance styles. The rich and varied nature of this music album makes it also a piece of work most Salsa DJ’s will definitely want to have in their music collection. There are many songs which can become great hits on the Salsa dancefloors all around the world. ‘Mi Campana’ is – without exaggeration – one of the best Salsa albums of the year!

Track List

1. Nando Vanin --  Que Chévere

2. Angel Flores -- Mi Campana 

3. Javier Plaza -- El Bocón

4. Jesús Hernández – Concentración

5. Angel Flores – No me Critiques

6. Javier Plaza – Ycugualagua

7. Nando Vanin – Cha pa’ Caracas

8. Daniel Patriasz – Reggaeton y Tambora

9. Federico Olivares – El Viaje

10. Marco Toro – Medley Toro # 2