MANDUKA + LOS JAIVAS: LOS SUEÑOS DE AMÉRICA

well, i'll try to explain good reasons in my english, so... excuse me for my grammar. I'm chilean and i like progresive rock. I want to introduce you this album because even for chileans isn't known at all. If we think (or know) about Los Jaivas music, we'll see this classic mixture of rock instruments and ethnics ones, like andean instruments (North of Chile, South of Bolivia, etc). But this album got a special development: added some brazilian sounds ( and instruments) in more songs, as "Ta bom ta que ta" and "Don juan de la suerte". The album features Manduka, brazilian poet and musician, who colaborated with Los Jaivas when both were in argentina ( Brazil and Chile were under bloody military governments). Then they performed this album, and enrich the sounds textures we knew in Los Jaivas music. It should be listened, of course, but i vote 4 stars, because this one as an experimental album is excellent, but there is another Jaivas's albums that deserve a masterpiece title, like Los Jaivas 1975, Alturas de Machu Pichu and Obras de Violeta Parra. That's all for a while Greetings from chile!

Pancho

Los Jaivas embarked for a South America journey in 1973. Not really to escape the dictatorship of their country (Chile) since such a regime was reigning almost everywhere in this continent. It was more of a discovery of other cultures which interested "Los Jaivas". And the integration of alien elements into their music. At least, the band mentioned so on their web-site.

This album adds very few "progressive" angles to their native and fully ethnic music. If a certain "Santana" influence could be felt in their first album "El Volantín", this one is purely related with their own folklore and therefore doesn't really appeal to me.

Some more time will be needed to have a more rock (prog) feel to their South American folkish songs. There aren't really great tracks featured on this album. The long (over twelve minutes) title track maybe. But even that one couldn't captivate my attention for the whole of its duration.

A weird album, and your understanding of the Spanish language won't help you either in capturing this work. At least it didn't do for me.

One star. Useless. Lo siento.

First of all, it is a shame that Manduka is not mentioned here. He is in the album and he was an amazing musician. Second of all, I understand that the one of the reviewers did not like that album. I think it'd be hard for most non-Spanish/Portuguese native speakers to understand the lyrics, or the music itself (no offense!). It certainly isn't either Manduka's or Los Jaivas's best album, but it deserves more recognition. It's that famous quote do not judge what you don't understand. Again, do not interpret this as an insult. It's just that I think one has to at least have lived in South America for some time to truly understand some of its music. And appreciate its folk music, its indigenous music. It's something too different from prog rock like Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, or ELP. I'm not even sure I'd call it prog. It's kinda experimental, so if you like that kind of music, this is great. It sure makes me miss my homeland - Brazil. Great guitar playing, nice lyrics, lovely singing by Manduka. But, again, both Manduka and Los Jaivas have much better records.

This common album from Chilean Los Jaivas and Brazilian poet and musician Manduka is a big disappoinment. Music is different forms of South American folk, in some places with slightly modernised arrangements.Possibly lyrics have their sense, but looking from musical point, album will hardly attract listener, searching for progressive music.

After some first very simple songs, there are few more interesting ones though. Some elements of free-jazz,world fusion or even avant are added here and there. But the result doesn't look as completed work. Still folk music with some (interesting) experimentation in a few places.

Should be avoided , unless you're fan of South American folk.

Manduka was a Young brazilian composer, his style was acoustic, heavily inspired in Brazilian folklore and lightly influenced by the latest currents of the bossa nova, all this with a strong social message, which made necessary to him to flee from his country after the dictatorship established in brazil in 1970, Then, in Chile, he made some important works, including his first album: Manduka (1972) in which collaborated, among others artists, the brothers Gabriel and Eduardo Parra from Los Jaivas, later, after the coup d''tat in Chile in 1973, again he was forced to flee, this time to Argentina. In 1974 with the jaivas makes this album: "Los sueños de America".

The Album follows the same structure of the original version of "Todos Juntos" (La ventana) album, his A side contains formal compositions, and his B side has improvisations. The first song "Don juan de la suerte", althought not prog, is a good Brazilian folk song, full of warm; just guitar and poetry by Manduka, just with light accompaining of piano and güira (metalic scratch percussion).

"la centinela" is another good composition in this album, not really prog but still a very beautiful and valuable folk piece.

The song: "date una vuelta en el aire", its a cueca by los jaivas, played on piano, charango and trutrucas, honestly it is not one of their best cuecas, besides lacking participation of manduka.

"Ta bom ta que ta" is the first theme in the Album when we really see the style of both artists fuzzed effectively, the singing and guitar folk of Manduka with the rich instrumentation of Los Jaivas in a melodic piece with bossa nova flavor, combining great jazzy drumming lines with piano and sweet flute, disemboguing in an good experimental rock demostration.

The second part of the Album seems like an extension of the more experimental period of Los Jaivas.

Traguito de ron, is very psicodelic becoming weird, "el Volantín" album comes to my mind listening this, but this time is not so funny, three years and two albums since that.

"Los sue'os de america" its the longest recording; about 12 minutes, tipically of los jaivas it contains a great variety of instruments, folk and rock ones, trutrucas, sweet flute, charango, tumbadoras, bongoes, rasca de metal, electric guitar, and finally piano and drums, quite boring at first, becoming more interesting later. I think that 12 minutes lenght theme might had more to offer.

The last theme, "encuentro latinoamericano de la soledad"... I really prefer to talk about another songs of Los Jaivas.

I regret to say, I feel that this album could be a masterpiece of bossa nova/experimental folk rock, however, I think that was not carried out in the best way, the first composition is very little Los Jaivas and much Manduka and "date una vuelta en el aire" is much Los Jaivas and nothing Manduka, also "date una vuelta en el aire" is in my opinion one of the least remarkable compositions in the band's career. Just with La centinela and especially in "Ta Bom Ta Que Tà" we see the real potential of the partnership Manduka-Los jaivas, I would wish that this quality would be maintained in the rest of the album, nevertheless the B side of the album contains only improvisations with some good moments, wich are not so significant as the improvisations in the side B of "La ventana" (todos juntos) album.

This Album contain some important songs for Los Jaivas career, "La centinela" would be reedited in in the album "Trilogía: el reencuentro" with the Chilean Andean folk band "Illapu". But as an album, "Los sueños de America" doesn't hold a very good quality. This album is in my opinion just for loyal fans of Los Jaivas.

While actually recorded in 1974 in Argentina after LOS JAIVAS relocated after the coup in Chile in September 1973, this collaborative effort LOS SUEÑOS DE AMERICA (The Dreams of America) with Brazilian folk singer MANDUKA wasn't released until 1979 on the Spanish label Movieplay. MANDUKA was born in Brazil and the son of poet Amadeu Thiago de Mello but lived in Chile from 1965 to 1973 and fled the country and ended up in Argentina with LOS JAIVAS.

These recordings were some of the earliest for LOS JAIVAS after relocating to the city of Zárate, on the banks of the tropical Paraná River located northwest of Buenos Aires. The album featured seven tracks at just over 39 minutes with the A side consisting of formal compositions and the B side exhibiting the same improvisational folk jams that LOS JAIVAS featured on its first two albums.

The album is a strange mix of LOS JAIVAS' indigenous folk and rock andino along with the more psychedelic folk leanings of MANDUKA that incorporated the MPB (música popular brasileira) that dominated Brazil in the 1970s. The album's lyrics included both the Spanish and Portugues languages and the two artists successfully blended their idiosyncratic styles into a veritable blend of pan-South American fusion.

LOS SUEÑOS DE AMERICA comes off as a sorta musical tug-a-war between the Chilean sounds of the cueca ("Date una vuelta en el aire") and Andean folk rhythms ("La Centinela") however for the most part it seems MANDUKA's Brazilian musical style dominates the album's trajectory with the sounds of samba, bossa nova and tropicalía threatening to usurp control however a veritable truce is declared with the second side of the album where both nationalities are suspended for a true adventure into a world of freeform freak folk.

"Traguito de Ron" starts off the improvisational B side and sounds like some forest ritual with a bubbling cauldron of boiling water accompanying tribal drumming, detached vocals offering a bizarre contrapuntal effect and the sputtering of flutes and other sounds that add improvisational icing on the cake. The 12-minute title track follows in similar fashion only rocks the indigenous pan flute and Andean folk sounds.

The title track sounds a lot like what was heard on the LOS JAIVAS' debut "El Volantín" The track drifts from melodic folk music to more crazed ritual style madness that sounds like a ceremonial gathering. By far the wildest track the band ever recorded. The album ends with "Primer Encuentro Latinoamericano De La Soledad," which is a short live track and features a robust audience participation showcasing the public's enthusiasm with LOS JAIVAS.

While certainly not their creative peak nor a proper album which connects the first chapter of LOS JAIVAS' 70s run with the 80s, LOS SUEÑOS DE AMERICA is very much of interest for lovers of freak folk who are also enthralled with indigenous world music sounds. The mix of the Brazilian and Chilean makes this one utterly unique and despite the clash of cultures at play, the two artists get along very well together. While not as essential as the albums that came before or arrive after, this one is very much of interest for true LOS JAIVAS fans as its adds a whole other dimension to the band's rich stylistic approach with the collaborative efforts of MANDUKA on board. Personally i love the improv tracks the best.