Cristo Navaja - Cumbia-Ska from Venezuela

Filmed in the picturesque mountain towns of Altos de Paramillo, Peribeca and El Topón around San Cristobal on the Venezuelan-Colombian border, Venezuelan ska band Desorden Publico's latest release is a whimsical confection of folk tradition and magical realism.

Models, folk dancers and men in Colombian hats with machetes make this the most colourful video the Desordenados have done for a long while and comes from their latest album Los Contrarios.

So what are you waiting for? Wave your machete in the air like you just don't care and sing!

Cristo Navaja


Caminaba por un mercado de esos muy improvisados
y en la mitad de la calle una vendedora ambulante
que tenia un ojo de vidrio me mostró un curioso artículo...
era un pequeño llavero con forma de crucificado Cristo


Fue así como compré esa potente cruz de metal
que tenía escrita la inscripción made in Taiwan
resulta ser que esa cruz dentro de sí oculta una navaja
que como una pico 'e loro - fuiss
despliega punzante el arma


Cristo navaja, Cristo Navaja
defiende mi billetera mientras da cobijo a mi alma


Cristo navaja, Cristo Navaja
defiende mi billetera mientras da cobijo a mi alma


Vamos to' el mundo!
Cristo Navaja, Cristo Navaja
Chumba la candela, maquinolandera
Dale cobijo a mi alma!

Venezuela ska band Desorden Publico launch new CD

By Russell Maddicks


Venezuelan ska veterans Desorden Publico are marking 25 years in the music business with their long-awaited new album called Los Contrarios.

The new CD sees the Caracas-based nutty boys return with the kind of irreverent black humour, social comment, and high energy that made them so popular in the late 1980s, when they were inspired by British ska bands like The Specials, Madness and The Selector.

Melding ska, salsa and cumbia rhythms into joyous dance numbers, Desorden Publico have long mastered the art of getting huge stadium crowds across the world to stand up and skank, earning them the title the Latin Kings of Ska.

The new album promises more of the same with tracks like "Musica de Fiesta" throwing Balkan gypsy stomping into the ska mix, and "Llora por un Dolar" providing a lilting reggae beat to accompany a sarcastic sing-a-long vocal.

There are two covers on the album, a version of Venezuelan folk singer Ali Primera's "Dispersos" and "City of the Dead" by punk legends The Clash, another key influence on Desorden's sound and attitude.

Listen out for a very special guest appearance by Ruben Albarran from the Mexican rock band Cafe Tacuba on the track "El Poder Emborracha".

"Cristo Navaja", the first single from the album will be formally launched on 8 June in the Venezuela-Colombia border city of San Cristobal de Tachira, where the video for the cumbia-ska track was shot.

To see a video of Desorden Publico performing "Monkey Ska" on a double decker bus in London click here.

To see a video of Desorden Publico rehearsing new tracks with BBC presenter Jonathan Dimbleby click here.

To see a video of Desorden Publico rehearsing tracks from the new CD click here.

Oscar D'Leon - Lloraras

Salsa star Oscar D'Leon is a true rags-to-riches story. He came from the poor Caracas barrio of Antimano and worked as a driver of a por puesto minibus before carving out a career as one of the greatest "soneros" of all time - up there with Hector Lavoe, Ruben Blades and his role model, Beny More.

He's still making hit records. His most recent album "Fuzionando", featuring collaborations with Puerto Rican reggaeton pioneer Tego Calderon and Calle 13, won the 2007 Latin Grammy for Best Contemporary Tropical Album.

In this video clip from a concert in Cali, Colombia, Oscar joins a full orchestra of top musicians from Puerto Rico and Venezuela to sing his signature tune "Lloraras". As you might gather from the title, there's quite a lot of crying involved.

Shame about Oscar's dodgy pyjamas, pero cartelua la musica!

Check out the lyrics in English:

I know that you don't want me to love you, you're always avoiding me somehow.
If I look for you over here, you pop up over there.
The only thing I want now is that you won't torture me anymore.

You will be sorry about your bad behavior, and my suffering will cost you dear.
You will cry and cry and no one will console you, and then you'll realize that it hurts when you're cheated on.

Later on you'll come asking for forgiveness, but my heart won't remember you any more.
You will cry and cry with no-one to console you, and then you'll realize that it hurts when you're cheated on.

You will cry, like I suffered, listen, you will cry, and no-one will understand you. Every bad thing you did to me, listen you will pay for it.

You will cry.

You made me suffer, now I'm the one who's laughing, now I will live my life as I wish.

I'm moving on.

You will cry.