"The Hippest Ecuadorians"

Los Papasotes - Traigo Salsa!

Canta: Tony Reyes

Ecuador - Label : Orion

Lado A

Lado B

Los Papasotes is definately a band that was enjoying their hippiest moments and just having a great time while playing together on this record. This album contains so many tracks I enjoyed, it was amazing to listen to from start to finish. The track titles contain several covers and a few original also. There was not so much information about this band I could dig up, however I can surely vouch that they represented as salseros in their barrio Esmeralda, trying their hardest to not sound like most of other cumbia bands who was also amongst the same 60's 70's era who attempted to emulate salsa, guaguanco rhythms.

Ecuador has had many strong bands that has represented latin music so richely, such as Don Medardo Y sus players, Pepe y su banda, Willie Bastidas, Orquesta Afro Clan, Dacho Pablo, and the list just keeps rolling on. Not all are really my cup of tea, as sometimes their swing tends to lean more towards the cumbiash or salsa romantica monga, especially in the early 80's and later.

Tony Reyes - Lead Vocalist

Omar Reyes - Organo

Jose Alvarado - Guitarra

Carlos Alvarado - Bajo

Victor Pazmiño - Timbales

Eugenio Hadatti - Conga

Gustavo Ibañez - Timbales

The Papasotes of Ecuador is strangely enough a septet which seems to have 2 timbaleros. After listening carefully it is hard to say if they are both playing at the same time. Perhaps they just shared out the tracks on the recording. Los Papasotes has surely enough a unique sound, comprising of a scary organ played by 'Omar Reyes' alongside the electric guitar strung by 'Jose Alvarado'. I am quite certain that the Jose & Carlos Alvarado who is the basist are brothers. The lead singer 'Tony Reyes' has a lot of feelings and emotiong behind his voice and is captured nicely with the over verb the engineer seemed to use so freely during the recording. I can imagine that Omar & Tony are also brothers.

'Traigo La Salsa Los Papasotes'

Dustin Anthony Hogg