A beautiful bachata classic from Antony Santos with stunning guitar playing. Bachata is growing on me as a genre, particularly in how 'familiar' this new genre should be to me. It bears more than a passing resemblance to Cuban and Haitian twoubadou music, which is not surprising given the mutual Cuban influences in twoubadou and bachata. Nonetheless, some of the older styles of bachata feature excellent guitarists with infectious rhythms. This song, "Voy Pa' lla," was a hit with the Dominican diaspora in New York, perhaps because the title resonated with the immigrant experience, according to Afropop Worldwide's special on bachata. Another excellent feature of bachata is the adaptation of the bachata guitar style to merengue, something exemplified in tracks like "Cojelo Ahi" or "El Tomate" by Luis Vargas. The guitar style is quite reminiscent of Cuban tres as well as Congolese styles due to, again, shared Cuban and African influences. To be honest, I am now ashamed of my previous dismissive attitude toward bachata without really hearing it.
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