Honra y Cultura

by John Storm Roberts, Original MusicThough the adulation given Colon's early recordings is fully justified, it has the unfortunate side-effect of blinding people to his equally fine recent recordings. Yet aside from the fact that he'd turned himself into an excellent and very individual singer, the recordings he made just before his political ambitions took over are by any measure outstanding. The 1991 Honra y Cultura reverted to Colon's historic passion for Puerto Rican music, featuring cuatro player Yomo Toro in two compositions by the great jíbaro singer Ramito. But as always, the references -- not just jíbaro, but touches of both rap and toasting, jazz, on and on -- were unified by an overall vision combining passion and humor.