Today TSJ goes to the Latin Grammys. We start with a track from the Album of the Year.
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[5.56]
Juana Giaimo: I was ready to give this song a very low rating and explain why J. Balvin should have won the Latin Grammy instead of Luis Miguel, but the truth is that I am surprised at how pleasing “La Festival del Mariachi” is. It is indeed a traditional Mexican sound that isn’t making a mark on international pop as J. Balvin’s music is. But I find this very harmonious; the trumpets are loud enough to make it festive but aren’t too invasive, and Luis Miguel’s voice is deep and strong.
[6]
Tim de Reuse: One of those megastars with a voice that’s so perfect as to be completely unremarkable, joyfully delivering a mariachi tune about how great mariachi is, under all this expensive production full of bombast and airy reverb — to what end, huh? It’s been a few years since I lived in Texas, but I remember mariachi in general being more interesting than this.
[3]
Crystal Leww: Luis Miguel makes music for Sunday afternoon picnics in the park with aunties and grannies. This is like listening to the Spanish language equivalent of that Justin Timberlake song that was on the Trolls soundtrack.
[5]
Alfred Soto: An important figure in Latin pop sings An Important Song About Mariachi. Neither I nor the world needed the reassurance.
[4]
Nortey Dowuona: Triumphant, soaring horns and slippery, dazzling strings with swaying, unstable guitars bring in the song, and carry Miguel’s sweet, brittle croon. The horns grow into a subversive crowning coo just as the song cuts out.
[7]
Stephen Eisermann: Unpopular opinion: Luis Miguel is at his best singing upbeat, lively mariachi songs like this rather than his signature ballads. The mariachi here sounds incredible, and coupled with Miguel’s signature silky power, it’s hard not to want to sing along at the top of your lungs.
[7]
Edward Okulicz: A trifle is a trifle, no matter how crowd-pleasing it is, but wow, does Luis Miguel sing this with so much verve and passion that he bursts out of the speakers. Even if everything about this is kind of sentimental and corny, his voice was so vivid that it was like he was in my small, crowded living room, trying to move me by telekinesis.
[6]
Juan F. Carruyo: I adore Luismi with all my heart and soul as he basically was the sound of my childhood. I even dressed up as him once for Halloween! But I’d rather hear him in yacht rock mode. However, this is a very passable tune that will make the loyals (and his newly recruited fans from the Netflix show) happy.
[4]
Iris Xie: What kind of spirit and confidence in your community does it take to make a rousing party piece like this? It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a song that requires an entire town to participate for it to come alive, as I usually listen to moody, interior-laden songs, but I just love this. I’m not really familiar with mariachi music at all, but the strong melodies and the amount of thrilling dynamism and singing from the heart is a balm for the soul in trying times like these. It’s the sonic equivalent of the desire of wanting to go out and embrace everyone with a warm heart and a smile, and to be excited in the potential of communication and experience and community.
[8]