Listen & Purchase

In summary, if "Pare cochero" is moved to the end of the disc with its traditional companion "Presente y pasado", it leaves us with a 10-track timba masterpiece that flows powerfully from beginning to end, and that - almost a decade later - is still one of the very best timba CD's ever made. It's the peak of CH's first style period. They've produced 4 more classic albums since (as of 2001), each breaking new musical ground and each equally exciting in its own way, but the music of the first two discs has a special and timeless appeal which has never been eclipsed. It's also the last album with Leo Vera and the last album of youthful innoncence before CH took on a harder edge and began to focus heavily on the wild and rapid changes to Cuban culture in which they themselves played such a central role.

"Hey You Loca" is definitely the starting place for anyone interested in getting into Charanga Habanera and along with NG La Banda's "En la calle", it's also the entry point to the world of timba in general.

Also see our articles on CH's debut album, "Me sube la fiebre" and "Clave Changes in the Music of Charanga Habanera".

NOTES ON THE AUDIO EXAMPLES:
All examples are from "Hey You, Loca!" on Magic Music Records, except:
audio example 6 is from Issac Delgado's "La fórmula" on Ahi-Nama Records
audio example 9 is from Los Van Van's "Esto te pone la cabeza mala" on EMI Records
audio example 10 is from Klimax's "Mira si te gusta" on Eurotropical Records
audio example 11 is from Issac Delgado's "La primera noche" on RMM Records
audio example 12 is from Issac Delgado's "Rarities" on RMM Records (or "Exclusivo Para Cuba" on EGREM Records)
audio example 13 is from Charanga Forever's "La Charanga soy yo" on Caribe Productions Records
audio example 14 is from Charanga Habanera's "El baile del azúcar" on Rosita Productions Records
audio example 15 is from NG La Banda's "Échale limón" on Harmonia Mundi Records
audio example 16 is from Chaka Khan's "The Best of Chaka Khan" on Reprise Records
audio example 17 is from The Doobie Brothers' "Minute by Minute" on Warner Bros. Records
audio example 19 (midi) gives you a 4-beat countoff to clarify the opening phrase
audio example 20 is from Klimax's "Mira si te gusta" on Eurotropical Records
audio example 21 is the same as example 20, but with a cowbell superimposed to show where "1" is.
audio example 26 is from Klimax's "Oye como va" on Eurotropical Records
audio example 31 is Issac Delgado's famous group with "Melón" and Alain Pérez, live at the Palacio de la Salsa in Havana in 1997
audio example 32 is a later Delgado group in concert
audio example 33 is Paulito's famous group with the "dos Joeles" at La Cecilia in Havana in 1998. This excerpt contains several brilliant coros which were added after the studio recording
audio example 34 is the post-breakup Charanga Habanera playing live in 1998 at the Disco Azúcar nightclub in Cancún, from a promotional live album made by the club. It features 4 coros not released on the CD. Some were added by the original Charanga Habanera and some by the new group. The lead singer on this version is Tirso Duarte.
audio example 44 is from Pello "El Afrokán" -- "Nace en Cuba" on Orfeon Records
audio example 45 is from Azúcar Negra's "Andar andando" on BIS Music Records
audio example 49 is from Manolito y su Trabuco's "Contra todos los prognósticos" on Eurotropical Records.

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Majela Serrano, Juan Carlos González, María Victoria Mederos, Vicky Hernández, Joanna Goldberg, Alexey Berlind, Bárbara Valladares, Curtis Lanoue, César Díaz.