Of course, everyone knows there’s no such thing as a single best salsa song. Choosing the “best” salsa song in a particular category (e.g. dance, hard salsa, salsa romantica) would be tough. Even if we could agree on what we mean by best, it would still largely boil down to a matter of opinion.
Nevertheless, people have created lists of the top 40, 100 or whatever salsa songs, some even narrowing it down to the “Top 10.” In fact, these lists are all over the map, with some songs on a Top 10 list not even mentioned on lists of the 100 best salsa songs.
Like I said, it’s a matter of personal choice - similar to Latin dance in general - and my tentative choice for the all around best salsa song is “Campanero,” a song I didn’t even discover until mid-January 2012, a couple years after I became addicted to salsa. If we divide our list into categories, Campanero might not rank #1 among Best Salsa Dance Songs - though it’s still a favorite in Latin America - but it could easily rate the title Best Salsa Song for Beginners. It might also be classified as the Best Children’s Salsa Song.
If we wanted to be really imaginative, we could create yet another list - Best Salsa Songs for Gringos Who are Learning Spanish. Guess what song I’d pick to top that list?
Campanero might seem an ironic choice for all around best salsa song. Salsa is generally regarded as fast and exciting, with riotous percussion and blaring brass. Campanero is a fairly slow song. At first glance (or listen), it might seem almost boring, though its brass introduction will grab your attention from the start.
Origin
"Campanero" was written by Jose Mangual Jr., a celebrated percussionist from a family of talented musicians. Taking note of young fans’ interest in percussion, Manugual said, “Damn, we should do an instructional LP.” That led to the album Understanding Latin Rhythms.
Next came the album Tribute to Chano Pozo (1977), which was accompanied by an instructional booklet. In an interview with David Carp, Mangual recalls,
Music
The first thing that grabs a hold of you when you first listen to Campanero will likely be the melody. It’s just one of those tunes you can’t get out of your head.
Like so many salsa songs, it also features a powerful rhythm arrangement - not surprising when you consider both the topic and the artists.
I also love the brass.
Combine all three, and you have a musical freight train that keeps chugging along, holding you captive (unlike this famous train song).
Lyrics & Meaning
Sex, Politics or Rock & Roll
This is where Campanero scores a hat trick or knockout, depending on what your favorite sport is.
To put it in perspective, most modern salsa features lyrics that focus on one of two things - love or sex. As a guy, I have nothing against love or sex, but I’m not the only who gets tired of hearing the same tired (and frequently phony) lyrics again and again.
Another major theme can be broadly described as political. That’s where my passion lies, which explains why I’m such a huge fan of Rubén Blades, who has been described as the “John Lennon of Salsa.”
So what could be a more powerful theme than sex or revolution? La musica! That's right, the music itself is an endless inspiration.
And what an exciting menagerie to choose from - bongos, congas, brass, singers. Of course, we've already learned that "Campanero" focuses on percussion, but what specific instrument?
Do you know what a campanero is? Don’t confuse it with compañero (companion). I thought it might be related to campesina (a peasant or person who lives in a rural area).
In fact, a campanero is a bell ringer; in this case, it specifically refers to a person who plays cowbells. Which begs the question what’s a cowbell?
For many TV viewers in the U.S., the cowbell is a lowly instrument singers in rock bands like to bang as part of their stage shows. Its ten minutes of fame came in the form of a Saturday Night Live skit in which music producer Bruce Dickinson (played by Christopher Walken) famously exclaims “Gotta have more cowbell!”
Salsa music revolves around percussion - congas, bongos, timbales, maracas and all sorts of gizmos that most people who aren’t familiar with Latin music have never heard of. The cowbell ranks near the bottom of the totem pole. The cowbell is traditionally played by a band's bongo player (bongocero).
But Jose Mangual Jr. put the cowbell on a pedestal in his song Campanero. A talented percussionist, Mangual walks his talk in one of the coolest salsa videos you’ll ever see.
Lyrics
The singer plays the role as an orchestra's bongo player, warning others to leave him alone as the only cowbell player...
Que no me anden con la campana, que yo soy el campanero.
Nobody take the cowbell because I'm the cowbell player.
Camparanpán campanero, camparandin, ding dong
(According to one contributor, "The coro is just a way to vocalize how the cowbell sounds during the soneo sesions.")
Soneos:Pon pon, cayo Japon*
Y ahora viene el campanero
con su campana para gozar, Mariana Juana
Pon pon, Japan has fallen*
And now the cowbell player
with his cowbell plays to enjoy, Mariana Juana
y la del bongocero
en union se armonizan
el ??? de campanas
with the one from the Bongo player
both harmonize
In the cowbell’s ????
La maraca lleva el compas
El hierro es el pulso
El corazon del ritmo
The Maraca leads the beat
The steel [a reference to cowbells] is the pulse,
The rhythm’s heartbeat
y agarro la campana
pitipon pitipon pitipon ponpon
pitipon campana vamo' a gozar, Mariana
and grab the cowbell
Pitipon pitipon pitipon ponpon (vocal sounds like the cowbell)
Pitipon cowbell let’s enjoy it, Mariana
Camparatin tin camparampam, mi campanero
Gozar mi campana, can quinquinquinquirin
Camparatin tin camparampam, my cowbell player
Enjoy my cowbell, can quinquinquinquirin
El sabroso campanero
Pompotom pomtontonton
[la campana responds]
the greater campanero
Pompotom pomtontonton (vocal sounds like the cowbell)
[the cowbell responds accordingly]
Scoring
Most Latin music fans would probably agree that "Campanero" is a really catchy tune matched with dynamite lyrics. But there are lots of other songs that meet those same standards. So what gives "Campanero" the edge?
In fact, there I designated "Campanero" the world's best salsa song based on three things...
Tradition
There's nothing wrong with experimentation. After all, most music and dance genres are the results of experiments.
But you have to draw the line somewhere. When music gets too far away from its roots, it's time to give it a new name.
Salsa music has come a long ways from its founding hard salsa origins. Some of the newer romantic salsa and what I call bubblegum salsa are hardly recognizeable as salsa.
But "Campanero" doesn't play games; it's authentic salsa.
Cool Factor
There's something undeniably cool about "Campanero." In fact, there are several things about it that strike me as cool, in a subtle way.
Beginner Friendly
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Versions
MASTER - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ASkhYivJ5o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRcYprCfzOw&feature=fvst - A live presentation of Jose Mangual jr. of the hit "Campanero" at La Rumba Night Club in Los Angeles back in the 90's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPzxcfpMbfM&feature=related - Campanero - Jimmy Sabater & Jose Mangual Jr. con Son Boricua
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwOKjVStVx8&feature=related - Campanero - José Mangual Jr. con Angelo y su Conjunto Modelo
Marcial Isturiz - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npd-gSf0Xkc&feature=related
MP3 Downloads (Amazon.com)
•Links
• José Mangual, Jr.: A Family Affair (Descarga.com)• Campanero (Jose Mangual Jr.) (SalsaForums)
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