Cubanocast

Like cumbia, merengue being a single style, it's easier to make a "best of" list than it would be to choose the superlative song from a whole country. Last week, I chose El Africano from Wilfrido Vargas as the best Merengue song. I'll stand by that decision. This week, I'll place Elvis Crespo's Suavemente number two.

While I was soaking up some fine Army training at Fort Leonard Wood, the lady at Boston Coffee between Manscen and Lincoln Hall would constantly play Suavemente (the first use of a cd player's repeat feature ever), and yet I never tired of it, proving, I think, the song's quality.

Suavemente weaves Crespo's nice singing, solid melody, and super-dancable rhythm into a wonderfully smooth fabric. Significantly, the lyrics are sweet, not nearly as overtly sexual as the very blue braggadocios of the reggaeton crowd. The video isn't as sexy as it could have been either. In fact it's not as bad as the Carl's Jr. commercial. Crespo's great, but many of his songs ended up sounding alike.

Listen to Suavemente

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