Title: Quetzalcoatl
Artist: Quetzalcoatl
Label: CD Baby
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 797847100122
Genre: Latin Pop/Rock

First released 1995/Re-issued 2003 INDIE NOMINEE-Best Latin CD, 'QUETZALCOATL'. 'The remarkable thing about Quetzalcóatl is that their music 'talks' to our roots as human beings...It goes from their hearts to ours.' --Edward James Olmos 'A tantalizing sojourn through indigenous genres of Mexico, Venezuela and Cuba...' --Billboard Magazine 'Quetzalcoatl's performance at the Wadsworth Theater had the audience up instantly out of their seats and moving with the rhythms of the Americas. The band's ability to draw the audience into the passion of the moment was exhilarating. They drew the fire of the evening'. --Linda Timmons, Residency Coordinator UCLA Center for the Performing Arts 'a polished and wonderful group' --Tom Schnabel, Radio Personality/ Author KCRW Radio. 'Their dedication to keeping the musical culture of Mexico and Latin America alive, and their commitment to performing, studying and exploring, raise the music of Quetzalcóatl to brilliance. Live, they are amazing. Recorded, they are outstanding'. --Joseph Guida, KVMR Radio Sacramento Valley. 'The musical group Quetzalcóatl is unique in many ways, unmatched by any other active group performing Latin folkloric music in the United States today. Few groups in Mexico, and none in the United States, specialize in expertly performing as many Mexican regional styles and in Venezuelan, Cuban and other Latin American styles as well.' --Timothy F. Harding, Ph.D. ABOUT THE ALBUM 'QUETZALCOATL': Portions of the self-titled album 'QUETZALCOATL' were recorded live at the Los Angeles Festival. This highly acclaimed audiophile high-fidelity CD was recorded direct to 2-track with vintage recording equipment, and is packaged with an elaborate 32-page booklet that includes album notes by internationally known ethnomusicologist Timothy Harding P.h.D. who evokes the music's history and complex rhythm styles. The booklet also includes polished translations of lyrics in Spanish and English, and two pages of candid photos and portraits of the group, many of which were shot by well known photographers. The recording features the voices of Quetzalcoatl's three remarkable lead singers. Their subtle blend of lead and harmony vocals combined with resonant layers of rich indigenous acoustic instruments characterize the extraordinary sound of this group. The musicians of Quetzalcoatl are gifted, brilliant and have tremendous appeal to modern audiences. They have the impressive ability to change their stringed and percussion instruments in an instant as they change regional styles, and often within one song. Complementing such virtuosity is a spirit of improvisation and creative but subtle reinterpretation of traditional styles---all this---the reason for Quetzalcóatl's vast and continuing success. Radio promoter Kristin Pearson of Hotline Promotions praised the self-title CD as really speaking to radio programmers and listening audiences. She said, 'The responses were extraordinary. It was an amazing accomplishment for Quetzalcoatl and Luna Blanca to have entered at such a position on the CMJ New World chart so quickly, and in the company of major label releases. It is truly rare for a debut album on an independent label to have entered at all, and become an Indie finalists as well.' Other fans of Quetzalcoatl's album include Arturo Gomez, WDNA Miami's music director/programmer, who called the group's new offering something 'really very special.' An aficionado and historian of Cuban music, Gomez said, 'A special tip of the hat goes to Quetzalcoatl for their interpretation of three Cuban son standards, rarely performed authentically outside of Cuba. It's hard to believe these guys are not Cuban.' Lauren Greene, the band's sponsor/manager adds, ' In Mexico, musicians and vocalists have been recording and performing Cuban sones and standards for years and years in clubs, concerts, movies and more. In Veracruz especially, there is a strong Cuban community. Early Cuban and Puerto Rican music can be heard everywhere. Alfredo (Quetzalcoatl's leader) was greatly influenced by his father who, from Veracruz, played the tres cubano in his own 1950's Mexico City band. Also, I think that what I call Veracruz-style Cuban son has a special 'flavor' of it's own, and it is this special 'flavor' that can be heard in Quetzalcoatl's performances and recordings of old Cuban son standards. Track Descriptions: 'Sabor a Caney'-(upbeat) and 'Amorosa Guajira'-(romantic) Cuban songs in early son style, featuring Alfredo Lopez's stirring vocals and master performance on the tres cubano, accompanied by the rich, earthy voice of seasoned Latin musician/singer Luis Felipe Gonzalez. 'La Iguana'-(fiery) son jarocho from Veracruz, Alfredo Lopez's spontaneous dancing, Luis Hirales' wild harp playing and their exciting call-and-response improvisation (pregon y respeusta), evokes rousing applause from the audience. 'La Gallina'-(lively) son planeco from Michoacan, closely related to the original mariachi-style music, features more of Luis Hirales' and Alfredo Lopez's brilliant and intense vocals. 'El Gaban El Gavilan'-(dazzling) instrumental virtuosity on this Venezuelan joropo, 'La Vaca Mariposa/El Becerrito'-(bitter-sweet evocative vocal duet) on this Venezuelan merengue orientale and 'Cabello Viejo'-(touchingly ironic) Venezuelan pasaje range from the traditional to the brilliantly crafted work of Venezuela's most renowned composer, Simon Diaz. 'El Impuesto'-corrido-Mexico (high spirited) song of social significance, written by Alfredo Lopez. ABOUT THE MUSICAL GROUP QUETZALCOATL: Dedicated to presenting the richness and variety of traditional Latin American music from it's indigenous roots to depictions of contemporary life, Quetzalcóatl (pronounced ketz-al-KO-watt) celebrates the depth and history of Mexican and Latin American culture that is still very much alive and evolving. The group takes it's name from the Aztec and Toltec plumed serpent God of wind and master of life, a compassionate teacher, and unifier of distinct peoples, whose symbol embodies the basic energies of the universe. Using more than 30 different historic instruments, this extraordinary and superior ensemble of musicians from Latin America has delighted audiences in major concert venues throughout Mexico, the U.S., Canada and Europe. Based in Mexico and the United States, the group has also performed their music for television and films, which include on-camera appearances in 'The Net' starring Sandra Bullock,'American Me' directed and produced by Edward James Olmos who also stars in the film, and most recently 'The Maldonado Miracle,' produced and directed by Salma Hayek for Showtime, starring Peter Fonda, Mare Winningham and Ruben Blades. ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Based in Mexico and the U.S., Quetzalcóatl is directed by Alfredo López Mondragón (Alfredo López) of Mexico City. A student and performer of regional music since he was 11, Alfredo shares with all the members of the group a passion for scholarship and the preservation of authentic musical forms. He has mastered more than 20 styles of Latin American traditional music, skillfully plays over 30 instruments and is also a superb vocalist. At age 13, he joined a local youth musical group playing guitar, requinto (a small Mexican guitar) and mandolin. At the age of 16 Alfredo mastered the tres cubano (the national instrument of Cuba; a guitar with three pairs of steel strings) and formed a trio, Huemac, performing Mexican and Cuban romantic popular songs in restaurants, hotels and bars in Mexico City, Michoacán, Veracruz and Querétaro. He began private formal musical studies at 17 and taught traditional music and dance in Mexico City and in rural communities in Oaxaca, Jalisco, and Michoacán, at this time he was attending the Instituto Politecnico Nacional in Mexico City and with fellow students formed the group, Chicahuastles. Alfredo then resumed private studies, this time with Adrian Nieto Arenas, a member of the renowned group L

Tracks:
1.1 Sabor a Caney
1.2 La Gallina
1.3 La Vaca Mariposa/El Becerrito
1.4 La Iguana
1.5 Amorosa Guajira
1.6 El Gusto Federal
1.7 Junto Al Jaguey
1.8 El Impuesto
1.9 Son de la Loma
1.10 El Caiman
1.11 El Gaban y El Gavilan
1.12 Pinotepa
1.13 Caballo Viejo
1.14 Icalla Nicolas!
1.15 [Untitled Track]