1. Alexis & Fido - 'Down To Earth'
A new urban music album from Puerto Rico's Alexis & Fido should be a big event in a year that hasn't seen as much urban music as in the past. Guest artists include Don Omar, Toby Love.
2. Jorge Celedon/Jimmy Zambrano - 'La Invitacion'
Do you love vallenato? Lots of people do and Jorge Celedon (with accordionist Jimmy Zambrano) is the name the name that always comes to mind when thinking of contemporary vallenato. Lately it's almost impossible to talk about great music without mentioning Colombia!
3. Cristian Castro - 'El Comienzo De La Historia'
Cristian Castro is going through a tough personal time so there's no new music but fans will welcom a 'Best of' release of some of Castro's biggest hits.
4. 'Panama Music Party Mixes With David Rolas'
Here's one for urban music fans. L.A. DJ David Rolas hosts a variety of artists on this album including La Factoria, Makano, Eddie Lover, JR Ranks and more.
5. 'Los Mejores De La Cumbia 2009'
Considering the popularity of cumbia everywhere in the world, it's amazing that we get so few albums that are devoted to the genre. But here's a new release of the best cumbia numbers of 2009 - although 2009 is only a quarter done! Tracks from Mi Sonora, Intocable, Cumbia Vallenata, Los Gavilanes and more.
6. Valentin Elizalde - 'En Vivo Desde Los Angeles'
It's actually pretty amazing at the number of posthumous albums by Valentin Elizalde that are being released; Elizalde was gunned down in 2006. Here's one live from Los Angeles; the DVD is also available for Elizalde fans.
7. Mexican Institute of Sound - 'Soy Sauce'
There's no one quite like the Mexican Institute of Sound. The Tijuana-based starts with Mexican music and then totally changes them with samples and other electronic effects. I really love this group and Soy Sauce gets help from Ad Rock (Beastie Boys) and Joselo Rangel from Cafe Tacvba. You can also catch them at the Coachella Music Fesitval on April 19th.
8. Carolina La O - 'Reencuentro Con Los Gemelos'
Colombian music fans will love this album; Carolina La O (could she have picked up this name from the Pete 'El Conde' Rodriguez classic salsa tune, "Catalina La O?") gets together with Cali's Los Gemelos and the result is hot Colombian salsa, cumbia and pop ballads. Carolina reminds me of a younger Shakira - you're going to love her!
9. Larry Hernandez - '16 Narcocorridos'
With all the shooting deaths of Mexican corrido artists that have occured over the past few years, narco corridos aren't something many people are brave enough to capture in musical storytelling. But Larry Hernandez braves the trend with 16 of the tunes that many artists have decided to avoid.
