Para No Pensar

Polito Ibáñez is one of the singer songwriters that belong to the "Post-Nueva Trova" (Carlos Varela, Gerardo Alfonso, Vivanco, etc.) movement in Cuban music. As such, he is a very good sucessor of the generation represented by the likes of Pablo Milanés and Silvio Rodríguez. The new generation of Cuban singer songwriters produce less adorned and more direct lyrics than the old generation, which was more inclined to delve into the crossroad of poetry and song. They also show a stronger rock influence than the old generation, as well as reggae, hip hop and electronica influences. Nevertheless, they do not abandon at all the primal accents of Cuban music, as it is Son, Bolero, and any other forms of Cuban-African folk music. In this regard, innovation is coupled with tradition. This album represents some of these features, mainly the rock influence along with the Cuban ballad tradition, with the addition of choral music (in the song "Hoy he vuelto a rezar"). The lyrics are quite mature, direct and very focused. Some of them are very critical of social and human situations, and others explore the everlasting romantic-love subject. A valuable achievement.

Polito Ibañez is one of those rare jewels of contemporary music that you must know about, to be able to find. I attended a couple of his concerts in Cuba and he was absolutely electrifying. It is the kind of show you don't see very oftenly, with the right balance of music, voice and INTELLIGENT lyrics. He's the kind of guy who makes you jump to the music, and at the same time makes you think "Wow, that's deep." "Para no Pensar" (Not to think) marks the definite maturity of his career. Hopefully there is more to come.Too bad I can't get his CD's on Amazon.com