Trémolos

La Familia Santiago – Trémolos y Alabanzas
Grabaciones Genesis, GR-LP-3

Cristóbal Santiago, San José, Puerto Rico, 1972

Trémolos y Alabanzas is only the third record to appear on the Puerto Rican label Genesis. I wonder how many records Cristóbal Santiago ended up producing before the label would go belly up. Father Cristóbal Santiago recorded this record with his wife Rosa Viruet de Santiago, and their children Milagros, Wifredo, Altagracia, and Rosita. There are also appearances Raffi Amaro and Los Embajadores de Luz on this record. On the photo (above) the four children all look to be about the same age, I wonder what they're doing these days, 40 years after performing in church with their father. Do they still play mandolin? Do they still perform in church? The record is signed and dedicated to Hector Graciani and his fiance Doria Encarna, there's an address and phone number on the label, but whatever I type into a search box I don't get any results that link to this record. I like it when musicians have absolutely no presence on the internet; everything I write here about the Santiago family will be a first. And I can do no better than to make a few assumptions.  

There's something about Christian records that makes me want to revert irony, sarcasm, or even ridicule, when discussing the music. But you gotta believe me that this is something about me, and not about them, the Santiago family. It's me, raised a Christian, and no matter how well I realize the hypocrisy of it all, there remains more than just a little bit of a Christian in me. 

Below you'll find the title track of the record that was written by Cristóbal Santiago.

The Joyfulaires

The Joyfulaires – In the Valley He Restoreth My Soul
Joyful Records LP: JS-73-1

05 (In the Valley) He Restoreth My Soul.m4a

'Tis the season for thrift stores to organize their records. Once a year the Christmas records are separated from the secular records. I enjoy this, it makes it easy, I only need to browse through a considerable smaller selection to try to find something I like than I do the rest of the year. So why did I browse through the Christmas bin the other day? God only knows. 

I picked up this LP by the Joyfulaires last Christmas when I was still living in Ohio. When there still was the potential for a white Christmas to look forward to. The Joyfulaires are from Albany, Ohio.

"Dianna is a young married student and has dedicated her talents to God. She was a neglected child, but God sent Mr. and Mrs. Pinney, wonderful christian parents, to adopt her as their own." (—The Joyfulaires, In the Valley He Restoreth My Soul)
Dianna plays piano in the group. Karen and Bonnie are young mothers who sing. Bonnie's phone number is listed on the LP (for bookings, I suppose) and it would be only a local call for me but I won't dial it (no, I'm not passing on that number either, it's 40 years old, for heaven's sake).