Though we lost the Mavericks' front man way too soon, his legacy lives on in the vast catalog of music that he left behind... including this week's Needle Drop Record.
With all the icy conditions currently plaguing the US, not to mention our imperialistic tendencies toward Latin America once again rearing their heads, we really do need to find intersections at which we can meet, and the Mavericks' sole Spanish-language album, En Español, fits the bill just fine.
A Cuban-American who grew up in Miami with Spanish as his first language, Malo had long been primed to make this record. A number of the tunes made their way into the band's live show years earlier, but the 2020 pandemic opened a window that allowed the album to come together with a combination of Malo originals sidled up right next to Latin classics. Por ejemplo: Here's a clip of Malo's grandfather's favorite song — a Julio Iglesias tune — done up Mav-style.
A deeper cut made famous by Celia Cruz, “Me Voy a Pinar del Rio,” features Sweet Lizzy Project. The Mavericks discovered the raucous rock band while visiting Cuba and signed them to their Mono Mundo label. Malo said of the collaboration, “I understood that passion, that rebellion against your culture growing up. It was really ironic to have them on this record. It was the first song that they recorded in the US and it’s about going back to Cuba.”
We could all stand to learn a lesson or two from Malo's wisdom and do the work of finding and supporting each other in the safe spaces that music can make for us. Hopefully, Record Bin is one of those spaces.
Gracias por toda la música, Raul.
Hear the whole episode January 7 at 6 am, 12 pm, and 6 pm PT.
