Naturally united under the same banner, these typically Cuban music from the 1930s (Mambo), then the 1950s (Cha Cha Cha), but also Trinidadian (Calypso, from 1915), therefore form this maddening triptych of irresistible dances, and of truly intense heat. . Their diffusion, in the United States at first, then very quickly on a global scale, would become inevitable at the end of the 1st World War. After having first explored a panel of female performers, then the crazy extravagance of style in a second part, and finally the links they have with the blues; El Vidocq now looks at the impact and traces left by Mambo, Cha Cha Cha and Calypso on other regions.
Volume four: Europe! It is the first of these geographical areas visited. A road trip that passes through Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and, of course, France. With a high rate of diversity in the formations, these countries having often served as a home for exiled musicians, the music is strongly influenced but has its own identity. How can you resist “La Suppa de Pichon” by Belgians Los Merecumbes, or “Cha Cha Twist” by Margarita Sierra (Spain)? How not to punctuate with an “Olé!” the “Torero” of the English The Southlanders? How not to scream when listening to “Tequila” by Ben y su Tumba (born in Floirac, near Bordeaux), who has nothing to envy to the original by Chuck Rio?
Where the hell are we? And when ? Who does what ? Thank you thank you, El Vidocq, for once again breaking the space-time continuum.
