Last year around this time, this album called Caricias Compradas came out and listening to samples of it before it hit shelves made me realize why I was a fan of this unorthodox, but great “banda”. When I first started hearing the band, the first song I heard by them was provided by my brother who had bought a song of there’s off itunes. When I first heard them, I liked the strong voice and the great instruments that accompanied “Voz de Trueno” on the song “Extrana Manera”. However, as time passed I started hearing samples wherever I could find them and also on other You tube and what not. Now, the group has had many different singers but this album provided a different taste of their music and I was very pleased when I first heard it. They had recently gotten two new singers and their names were “Pajaro Loco” and “Venado Blanco”. The first album they sang on was fairly decent and I was taken aback that they actually gave some effort instead of sounding generic like some bandas do these days. Most of my life, I have heard bandas and most of them have had excellent singers. As time has gone on, I have started to notice that most bandas have tried to stay young and recruited new singers. But, this banda has kept one singer that has sang on most of their albums up until this one. When I first heard “Rayo de Luz”, he had the same charisma and energy that is lacking in today’s music genre. I particularly like the fact that on this album he sounded different and he sang to tell multiple stories on multiple perspectives on love. Now, the album itself starts off fairly sad and upbeat but I like how it is constructed.
1. Caricias Compradas:
The first song is performed by “Rayo de Luz” and this song focuses on a guy that has separated from his lover and the only way he tries to forget her is by trying to buy love. In the song itself, Luz implies that the best way he can buy love is through actually buying women instead and instead of forgetting the girl alltogether he tries to go through all the women that he can in order to feel better about himself. He also tries his best to calm himself through drinking and simply calming himself by possibly not even know the girl he is sleeping with. I thought this song provided the album with a very good perspective of how love may work for some and may be a hindrance for others.
2. No es que te Quiera:
Very good and funny song on how this guy is thanking god for releasing him from the grasps of love from this love he had. He believed that she was almost a goddess but he was mistaken. he would later find out that she was cheating on him. He also tries his best to relieve himself by getting drunk and singing this song in particular. What I find interesting about this song is that love can be humorous and sad at the same time because sometimes it is hard to believe. Even Rayo de Luz believes in this song that this girl loved him but it didn’t turn out to be true at all. All in all, a very good song.
3. Mi Tierra Natal:
This song is by Venando Blanco in his only solo appearance on the album and I find this song to have a good meaning. this guy had recently fallen out of a relationship far away from his homeland and he is looking to go back to his homeland to see if he finds any real love. He wants the opportunity to fall in love with a girl that knows love and he is also trying to forget the idea that he once loved this girl with all his love. I find it strange that he also references that once he has been away, he is trying to understand the idea that he feels sorry for this girl because he never really had the opportunity to share love with him and it is almost as if he never had the chance to do so.
4. Millonario de Amor
Probably one of my favorite songs ever because of the message it sends. It is a duet featuring Venando Blanco and Pajaro Loco. The song is about a guy that doesn’t have the greatest career or the most money but he tries his best to give his love to this girl and he hopes that she will love him back. My favorite line of the song is when one of the guys says “Even if I don’t put a fortune at your feet I have something much better and that is my big heart”. I also like that they make reference to how he can dream that he can give all this stuff to this girl but he knows in reality that he can never really give her all this stuff. He just wants her love in order to actually feel accomplished with the relationship. The message itself made me feel optimistic that real relationships that are good have the foundation built into them and they shouldn’t be based just on money but how much each person is willing to work out their problems with the other. No matter how tough it may be, the more you are willing to work through financial problems or anything else the stronger you will come out.
5. Adios o Al Diablo
I’m not a big fan of this song. I believe it was subpar and basically it deals with how this guy feels the girl has nothing left to offer him. He is wondering whether to ask the devil or God himself for the girl to leave him or to ask for something new. He is also wondering whether he should compromise and stick through the relationship cause he already has committed to sticking through the relationship. Otherwise, strange and weird song to put on this album. Rayo de Luz did a good job trying to sell this song but he failed in the end.
6. Late mi Corazon
Awesome song and another duet between Venando Blanco and Pajaro Loco. The guys want the girl to know that he will always be there for her so long as if the girl is willing to stick together with him. They also make references to how “hot” they may get when the girl is around them and they are afraid that if they don’t make a connection then they will somehow fail in the end. What I like about the song is that it is a cumbia and for the banda it sounds completely different from anything they have done before. They try damn hard to make it sound believable as a cover song and they do a very fantastic job. This song defined the album as being something different and it also personified as to how they are trying to do many different things instead of sticking to one thing.
7. Ven Junto a mi
I love this song as it is a slow ballad with a the tube and the trumpets blazing. Rayo de Luz is singing like a pro on here about how his love with this girl is getting better and he wants more. He wants the ability to love this girl and he also wants to be happy which is just enough to say as he thinks about this girl tremendously throughout the day and the night. He also wants to make love to her in order to perserve that connection between them. The thing that also gets me about this song is that is pace so that the listener does not confused and the listener is also able to understand and digest the majority of the song through. I can almost the song which is a plus in most cases and Luz does a great job giving this song a strong boost of confidence as well.
8. Amor Material
This song is probably the most underrated to me as it deals with a girl that only wants a guy with money. The guy in the story has gone off to work and now he has returned with some wages. Instead the girl has now married and forgotten all about him. Loco and Blanco do a great job of singing in a duet fashion once again as they have a good message as well. I want to say that this was probably the song that got me thinking that more bandas should be doing this type of duet singing because it can really work in some cases. For example, seeing as how the banda has three singers you can hide some of the singer’s weaknesses but also bring out some of their strengths. All in all, a very good song.
9. Tu Primera Vez
I found this song to be strange because now as adult we know more about people making love and for some it may be uncomfortable. the first time I heard it I felt weird inside because this type of song was unlike this band that I liked for a couple years now. But, over time I have understood that Rayo de Luz’s message was that love has many different elements and he is also saying that he was trying to convert this girl into a woman and he is the one responsible for doing so. He incorporates many different elements such as the two lovers sweating and the amount of touching that goes on is also added to give a good perspective. As time has gone one, I have appreciated Cuisillo’s attempt to make themselves better by trying to incorporate new elements into their music so bravo.
10. Gavilan, Gavilan
Very upbeat cumbia about a young womanizer that has the features of a traditional vaquero. He wears the cowboy hat and the snake skin boots and it just is very funny how many people are drawn to this guy. He brings the party to these people and he is willing to have as much fun as everyone else. I liked the positioning of the song because it draws it to almost a climax instead of singing just sad love songs and I did enjoy this song very much.
11. Pienso en Ti
Ok song about this guy who sees that he can’t stop thinking this girl that has left him and he just thinks about how beautiful she was and he can’t really change the fact that she is now gone and he just thinks that some other guy may now be loving her instead. Hearing this song makes me believe that Luz’s message was that girls drive guys crazy and even when they are gone they can’t stop thinking about them because he might have messed up or the girl might have messed up at some point. There is something this song that makes it sound sad but also good for women because they do in fact drive guys crazy.
12. El Bulto
Rayo de Luz’s last ever song with the banda as he left shortly after this album was released. This song is pretty funny as it deals with a guy that is dancing with his girlfriend and he believes that a statue may be moving and he doesn’t know why he believes the statue may be moving but he just keeps sweating because he thinks it may move. They are just minding their own business and here is this guy that believes that this statue may be moving. In this song, I believe that many albums end with a high note and in this case it did and it delivered.
Overall a very good album and this is one I don’t regret listening to as I picked up as soon as it came out. I remember this being around the time just when I was starting my spring quarter last year and I associate many of these songs with my time there. Thanks for reading and here are some of the samples from the album itself if anyone is curious, enjoy:
Just Another Day... 