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 Entertainment | August 2007 
Feliciano Still Has His Soulful Vibe
 Laura Emerick - Chicago Sun-Times
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| | Jose Feliciano at Viva Chicago. (Oscar Lopez/Sun-Times) |
most eclectic lineups of recent years.
Singer-guitarist Jose Feliciano, who concluded the two-day free event Sunday night at the Petrillo Music Shell, demonstrated how he has remained a creative force in a career that stretches back to the early '60s. Though the Puerto Rican-born artist first broke through with flamenco-tinged Latin pop, a la his signature rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire," he's fluent in many styles, including jazz, R&B, Latin bolero, Afro-Cuban son and more.
Opening with "Guitarra Mia," he and his band moved from a slow clave rhythm and then segued into a dazzling flamenco-style solo on the song's bridge. Later, he stripped the gloss from "Bamboleo," the often-abused flamenco-rumba hit by the Gipsy Kings.
On "Por Mujeres Como Tu," popularized by the Mexican ranchera star Pepe Aguilar, his guitar lines rang out crisply in a Puerto Rican cuatro arrangement. Next up he turned George Benson's laid-back smooth-jazz instrumental "Breezin'" into a showcase for classical guitar.
Though at 62, Feliciano doesn't have tonal beauty of the past, his voice still retains its soulful edge, as he proved with his version of "If You Don't Know Me by Now."
In a backstage interview before his performance, Feliciano attributed his longevity to "the way I approach life. Being a musician first and foremost is what has kept me in the limelight. If I had been just a singer, I don't know if it would have been the same."
Preceding Feliciano onstage Sunday were Latin pop acts Belinda, Aleks Syntek and Moenia. The latter, often called "the Depeche Mode of Mexico," attracted a huge crowd of young fans. But their inclusion at Viva seemed a bit strange, since their music owes more to American-British pop-rock than Latin traditions. They're Latin in origin only.
Largely absent this year were regional Mexican acts, save for the local bands Durango Express and Skandalo Musical. The absence was more acute because Chicago's Latino contingent is primarily Mexican and also because the regional Mexican field dominates the U.S. Latin music market. Recent RIAA statistics put regional Mexican sales at 58 percent.
Though regional Mexican superstars like Los Tigres del Norte headlined Viva in the past, this year's event was dominated by Latin pop, urban/reggaeton and tropical Latin acts. By booking younger-skewing rock acts like Moenia and Syntek, however, Viva's organizers prove they are willing to forget the debacle of a decade ago when the Mexican rock group El Tri triggered a near riot.
On Saturday, Colombian singer-songwriter Fonseca, who has an engaging style and supple voice, made his long-awaited local debut. A disciple of his fellow countryman and vallenato enthusiast Carlos Vives, he saluted his mentor with "El Cantor de Fonseca." Like Vives, Fonseca has helped to revive the accordion-driven, folk style of vallenato.
Performing with a six-piece band, Fonseca ran through much of his second disc, including the Latin Grammy winner "Te Mando Flores."
FRANCO DE VITA AT THE ROSEMONT THEATRE: The Venezuelan singer-songwriter gave a rare local concert Saturday, and though the cavernous hall was only half-full, he and his seven-piece band performed as if they were appearing before an overflow crowd at Madison Square Garden. His two-hour concert offered a liberal sampling of his live two-disc set "Mil y Una Historias en Vivo" (2006). Though a bit steeped in arena-rock trappings, the everyman de Vita puts on an electrifying show. |
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