Can you imagine this? It’s a match between two criminals, two tales written by two iconic salsa giants Hector Lavoe and Rubén Blades. Each song portrays the lifestyle of the urban Latino American experience and who would have thought that these songs were going to be part of the salsa explosion of Fania records. Well, the songs Juanito Alimaña and Pedro Navaja are classics now and the lyrics to both songs are well worthy enough of be craved in stone.
Coming straight from a New York City street corner, we have Juanito Alimaña that tells the story of a street thug that is irreconcilable with society. He is vicious and dangerous; his cousin is a police officer, which makes it seem that he can get away with any crime. Hector Lavoe depicts Juanito’s world as sordid and exquisite but the song keep us engage as if you was watching Carlito’s Way.
Juanito Alimaña (Hector Lavoe)
From
the street corner of lower Manhattan, it’s known that the track Pedro Navaja was dislike by Fania
bosses Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Mascucci. However, when Willie Colón and Rubén
Blades’ second collaboration album, Siembra
hit the record stores in 1978. The song Pedro
Navaja became famous and a hit classic. Blades wrote and narrated Pedro Navaja with a tale illustrating life,
death and with an unexpected dark ending. We have to ask ourselves, was there
anything between Pedro Navaja and the prostitute. Did he already have a grudge?
And where did the drunk come from?
Pedro Navaja (Rubén Blades)
What’s your opinion? Which one is the best song of
all-time?
Leave a comment.
Two great songs!
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