The interracial Boston band
Flor De Cana takes a largely acoustic and very folksy approach to a variety of Latin styles on Dancing on the Wall. Although not extraordinary, the results are generally decent and likable. With singing in English as well as Spanish, the CD finds
Flor embracing everything from Afro-Cuban salsa ("Azucar," and "Mi Suplica") and Dominican merengue ("Dancing on the Wall") to Brazilian bossa nova ("Dias De Calor") and Latin jazz (the instrumental "Chile Sin Carne"). The band (which has a talented singer in the very clear-voiced and lucid Rosemarie Straijer-Amador) moves into African territory on "Bailando en La Sombra," an example of the popular African style called zouk. But for all its diversity, the CD makes a very cohesive statement. ~ Alex Henderson