Sol y Canto's long-awaited bilingual children's album will not disappoint their fans and will win over children of both English- and Spanish-speaking cultures.

Brian and Rosi Amador and friends in Sol y Canto (Sun & Song) bring their pan-Latin influences and long musical experience to this pleasant and well-produced CD.

The songs are happy, fun, educational and, of course, fully bilingual. They deal with such subjects as peace, the environment, counting, days of the week and, of course, the advantages of speaking two languages.

Although a bit lyrically earnest at times, it's an enjoyable effort that made a hit with my own children. And it's certainly educational. In one of the best songs, I learned how many ways there are to say "kite" in Spanish -- each country seems to have its own word for it: "Some call it 'cometa' or 'volant'n'/and I'm just getting started, if you know what I mean./In Puerto Rico, they call it 'chiringa,'/it's called 'barrilete' in Argentina./In Mexico they call it 'papalote,'/it's 'papagallo' in Venezuela."

As well as Brian (arrangements, vocals, percussion) and Rosi (vocals, percussion), musicians are Alan del Castillo (quena, ocarina, vocals), Arturo Stable (congas, percussion, vocals), Jon M. Weeks (flute, sax, percussion), Bernardo Monk (flute, sax), Nando Michelin (keyboards) and Carlos del Pino (bass). The harmonies are fine and they handle all styles of Latin-based (and other) music with aplomb.

If your children are learning Spanish (or English, for that matter) this CD is a fun, easy and melodic way to help them enjoy the process!

- Rambles
written by David Cox
published 21 August 2004

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