Nuevos Senderos

Although Olga Tanon is best known for merengue, she was never a merengue purist -- salsa, Cumbia, and Latin pop have all influenced the well-known singer. Nuevos Senderos, in fact, has nothing to do with merengue -- full of ballads, this 1996 release is primarily a collection of romantic Latin pop. And Nuevos Senderos isn't salsa romantica either. While the salsa romantica that is recorded in New York, Miami, and San Juan is aimed at the tropical market, this CD was recorded in Mexico and doesn't have a tropical orientation. The person who did a lot to shape Nuevos Senderos is Marco Antonio Solis, who produced the album and wrote nine of its ten songs. Under Solis' direction, Tanon is backed by a lot of Mexican musicians -- and it shows. Nuevos Senderos isn't mariachi, ranchero, or even Tejano, but it does sound like the type of romantic Latin pop album that would be recorded in Mexico rather than New York or Miami. While "Mi Eterno Amor Secreto," "El Dano Que Me Haces," and other Solis-penned ballads aren't traditional Mexican music, they do have a slight Mexican tinge -- if some of the ballads that Tanon provided on her previous releases were Latin pop with the sort of tropical edge one expects from Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans, Nuevos Senderos is Latin pop with a slight Mexican edge. Those who prefer Tanon as a merengue/tropical artist might regret the fact that Nuevos Senderos contains no merengue; nonetheless, this album proves to be an interesting and rewarding departure for the tropical superstar. ~ Alex Henderson