CD Review: Issac Delgado - En Primera Plana

Issac Delgado is a towering name in Cuban salsa. There are few places you can go without hearing his smooth, masterful voice and, in a country where the sound of salsa/timba is as prevalent as the sound of the ocean hitting the rocks, that's saying alot. Last year, Delgado quietly stepped across the border in Mexico and defected to the U.S.

En Primera Plana (On the Front Page) is his first album, recorded in New York and produced with the help of salsa impresario Sergio George. Delgado felt a lot of trepidation about both this album and the move to the U.S.; his fame outside the U.S. doesn't ensure fame & fortune here.

Well, I can't speak to the fortune part of the equation, but I'm pretty sure that he's in no danger of facing diminishing fame. The Latin Recording Academy has shortlisted En Primera Plana in the "Best Salsa Album" category.

If the decision were mine, En Primera Plana would be the winner. Stay tuned for the Academy's decision TONIGHT (8 PM, Univision).

(The other nominees are: Willy Chirino - 35 Aniversario - En Vivo; El Gran Combo - Arroz Con Habichuela; Andy Montanez - El Godfather De La Salsa; Tito Nieves - Canciones Clasicas De Marco Antonio Solis)