1989 Volume IX - 30 años
Areíto LD-4525

click here for our timba.com review with audio samples

This was the first album without Tony Calá, (who went to NG La Banda in 1988) but he's listed as the co-composer of the title track. It was released in 1989, although the 30th anniversary would have been July 1988. The second and third tracks can be found on Historia de la Ritmo, Vol. 2.

With Maza's voice and writing back in the fold, Ritmo Oriental might well have shrugged off the departure of Tony Calá, but not the tragic death of genius drummer Daniel Díaz, combined with the drastic changes of the Special Period and the onslaught of timba. There were two interesting timba-esque albums, with a new cast of younger players, around 1995 and various other revivals, the most recent in 2005, with a full horn section, no less!