Yolanda

Los Embajadores Criollos – Cofre de Recuerdos
I.E.M.P.S.A., Odeon del Peru, LD-1507

My wife is an avid collector of gems and jewelry. She's an authority if it comes to recognizing gems, stones, and minerals. So when I come across a record cover that features a treasure chest, or another collection of gems and jewelry, I'll take it along. This happens more often than you might think. Especially within Spanish language music records. For some reason the background in most of these records is red, the music often easy listening. But not always! Cofre de Recuerdos by the Peruvian trio Les Embajadores Criollos is a beautifully rendered album of Creole Peruvian songs. Half of the songs on the album have a woman's name as title. What's missing on the record is the customary Maria song. As you may have noticed by now I collect songs about and by Marias. Maria is my wife's name, and she has the most beautiful name in the world but this week we'll have to do with Yolanda (it's a nice name too, isn't it?) Los Embajadores Criollos aka "Los Ídolos del Pueblo" are Romulo Varillos, Alejandro Rodriguez, and Carlos Correa. They formed in 1949 and still perform to this day (even though leader Romulo Varillos died in 1998), the record presented here is probably from the late fifties. Enjoy!