Customer Reviews

Panama: Latin, Calypso and Funk on the Isthmus 1965-75

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This is just great music. The producer has made a tastefully selection in each track of the compilation. The result, is nothing less than a magnificent overview of the diversity of Panamanian music. A diversity that can only be trace to the multiethnic background of the people of the isthmus. You can enjoy pure original soul music (tracks 12, 9, 2 ) with such a good quality that can easily be compare with that produced by Afro-American legends...Panamanian Calypso is gratefully vindicated by Lord Cobra, probably the most important calypsonian of the Caribbean during the sixties and seventies. His version of "Rocombey" is just amazing. In the other hand, you can find original and exclusive Salsa Music.... In my opinion this is the Panamanian version of Buena Vista Social Club..... Don't miss it....

I was born in 1976, so i guess i missed all of this, i am from Panama and i can honestly say that this album blew my mind, being a music enthusiast i am always searching for seventies combos nacionales music and had heard some funk and calypsos from the country, but this pieces i didn't know existed until i bought this cd.
If you want to know just how good Panamenian music can be, this is where you should start.

Nowadays when you hear about Panama's music, you only hear about Ruben Blades' salsa (which is great) and Reggae dancehall, Reggaeton, Spanish Reggae but there's a lot more than that.

Music in the Isthmus of Panama can be traced to the 1500's (Panama City was founded in 1519) when Spaniards (many of them from Seville) came to conquer the American continent brought their culture and traditions, including their music. E.g.: the Saloma (guttural/vocal sometimes poetic expressions of farmers) are directly connected to Sevillian traditions. Later on when black people was brought as slaves from Africa, they came with their musical traditions and mixed it up with Spanish and Native music; creating back in the 1500's a strong cultural identity based on diversity.

In early 1800's more influences were added to the musical tradition of Panama when people from the West Indies and other parts came to Panama to work in the construction of the first trans-continental railroad. By the end of the century, precisely in 1881 the French company "Compagnie Universal du Canal Interoceanique", led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, started to build a Canal across Panama; and many of the workers came from the West Indies mainly from Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, Martinique and Guadeloupe; these Afro-Caribbean people brought their music as well. More or less at the same time people from around the globe arrived to Colon City on the Atlantic coast (the forced path from NYC to San Francisco) during to the California gold rush, establishing bars and cabarets bringing new music from the United States such as Jazz, Blues, Folk, etc. Later on when the French canal company went into bankruptcy and the United States acquired the actives of the French, more workers from Spain, China and the West Indies came to the Isthmus to finish the construction of the canal.

These waves of migrations to the isthmus made possible to have a real cultural melting pot, enriching tremendously the musical tradition in Panama. In Addition to all these, being the country a transit passage for people from around the globe, a very open society was molded, a society that welcomes and adopts new cultures and musical trends. Good examples of these have been the cases of: Afro-Cuban music in the 1940`s, Bossa Nova from Brazil and Calypso from Trinidad & Tobago in the 1950's, the Leftist Latin American Trova, AKA Nueva Trova (Silvio Rodriguez, Victor Jara et al.) and Salsa from New York City in the 1970`s, Jamaican Reggae in 1980's. Due to all the influences embraced by Panama`s society, new music styles evolved in the Isthmus, being the case of "Combos Nacionales" in the late 1960`s and 1970's; these musical groups mixed Afro-Caribbean rhythms (Salsa, Merengue, Compa, Ska , Bolero, Danzon, etc.), rock and jazz with folkloric Panamanian music, creating a colorful, vivid and original style; almost extinct at the present day.


Almost nothing has been written or compiled of the "combos nacionales" and Calypsonians from the 50's to the late 70`s. This CD compilation is great job, containing brilliantly selected songs that show the musical richness and diversity that exist in the country.

... especially since the California gold rush. Previously (for a few centuries) there had been a cultural mixing of Old World Spain and the various indigenous tribes. In the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution spawned technological marvels like the Panama Railroad and later (1900s), the Panama Canal. Labor (voluntary and otherwise) came from everywhere and eventually produced a multi-cultural mix of music. With the explosion of mass media (where it concerns popular music) in the 1960s and 70s, Panamanian music groups, "Combos Nacionales", blossomed on the isthmus, to which a three volume set is dedicated. (Hopefully more compilations are in the works.)

All of these CDs have extremely well-written liner notes by the main compiler, Roberto Ernesto Gyemant, and he adds a personal touch. His tales of the people he meets while searching for music make for great story-telling. Many archival photos are included in the CD booklet as well. Sr. Gyemant has spent a lot of time searching all over Panama for vinyl records, including overseeing the digital transfers, which are top notch. All of the music is great! There is a depth of feeling here for the uninitiated - we are mining a deep well indeed. Muchas gracias to Roberto, wherever he is! So anyway, which volume of the set do you want? Let me help you pick one:

Volume 1 is the most "urban" - there is a more North American Soul/R&B influence in the songs (the US Armed Forces' SCN radio had an impact after all). Volume 2 seems to have the most "rural" Panamanian feel - indigenous sounds from the interior - música típica - that kind of stuff. And Volume 3 has a more Caribbean feel to it. (If I were a musicologist I would say "Afro-Antillean" à la the liner notes.) You ought to know where "de lime in de coconut" really comes from.

So pick this one - Volume one - if you are new to Latin sounds. This CD will even charm the gringos who think that they are not crazy about Latin music. You see, the music on this one is closer to American rock, R&B, soul etc. If you end up loving this stuff, you can dig deeper and go to volume 2 ...

I was doing a Powerpoint presentation on Panama with my class. They loved the music, it introduced them to music they had never heard before. I also look forward to playing this CD at my annual BBQ, my parents will be proud! :)