V.A. - The Rough Guide To The Music Of The Andes : Bolivia (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

If you thought the music of the Andes was all pan pipes and funny little guitars and melancholy songs about condors, think again. This very fine collection of music from Bolivia focuses on performers from La Paz, the country's largest city, and it showcases a fascinating variety of sounds. It opens with "El Guajojo" by Esther Marisol, who sings in a sweetly rich alto voice and whose music is typified by an elegant, almost decorous mood that falls somewhere between fado and samba. A similar delicacy informs Zulma Yugar's "El Transnochador," a lovely song accompanied by those flutes and double-strung guitars (called charangos) that you're used to hearing. Also noteworthy are the lurching and horn-heavy (wait for it -- the horns come in about halfway through) "En el Funeral del Rio" by Luis Rico and the sumptuously beautiful "Añoranzas" by the all-female conjunto folklorico Grupo Bolivia. Everything on this richly diverse album is worth hearing, with the possible exception of the poorly recorded and halfheartedly performed "Dalia Morada" by Enriqueta Ulloa. by Rick Anderson
Tracklist:
1 Esther Marisol – El Guajojo 3:22
2 Arawi – Chofercito 4:09
3 Zulma Yugar – El Trasnochador 3:32
4 Ernesto Cavour – Greda Mestiza 2:28
5 Semilla – Wistu Vida 4:29
6 Ana Cristina Cespedes – Paloma Del Alma Mia 4:33
7 Savia Andina – K'alanchito 3:36
8 Grupo Bolivia – AÑoranzas 3:31
9 Enriqueta Ulloa – Dalia Morada 3:39
10 Luis Rico – En El Funeral Del Rio 6:09
11 Luzmila Carpio – Bartolino Sisaman 3:04
12 Los Kjarkas – Senora Su Hija 2:58
13 Betty Veizaga Y El Grupo Pukaj Wayra – Ulala Kiskita 3:37
14 Grupo Aymara – Huellas De Mi Llamita 3:06
15 Emma Junaro – De Regresso 5:12
16 Rafael Arias Paz – Kaluyos Tradicionales 3:31