Recess! Media

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That’s the chorus from Nana Animalera, written and sung by Maricela Verena, a Cuban composer and musician, living in Puerto Rico, from a new CD called Cuban Lullaby, from Ellipsis Arts. Ms. Verena’s song tells about how the animals come out every night and have a party — the zebra lets down her stripes, and the spider rumbas with a centipede, while a bull and a polar bear have tea, the fireflies lite up the dance floor, and the chichuachua serenades them all with his splendid voice. There s a purple cat, and an alligator wearing polyester pants, and a green horse playing the trumpet. What a song to dream on. And its only one of the sixteen amazing tracks on this glorious CD. The Coro Corolillo, a children s chorus, sings the traditional song, Senora Santana, about a little boy who s lost an apple; the late Merceditas Valds lovingly scolds a restless child on Lacho ; and Grammy-award winning Chucho Valds and Andrs Aln both offer beautiful piano solos. Here’s the opening from Alns lovely Berceuse Campesina:

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Ahhh…. these are lush, balmy cradle songs for May Caribbean nights, when fireflies are winking, and all the animals are dancing, and someone like the late, great Bola de Nieve, is singing:

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