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Latinpalooza returns >> Oyé went back into action last month. The approach has been refined, but the dance party remains the same by RUPERT BOTTENBERG
Back in the summer of '94, Linares and his then-partner Andreas Mendoza began formulating a solution to that challenge. Aside from the couple of rather small salsa clubs in town, they didn't have much to work with. "Most of the Latin shows that were being done at the time were community events, held in church basements," recalls Linares. "They had very poor quality production elements, like bad sound, bad lighting. At the same time, we hadn't seen any mainstream venues doing Latin music, so we weren't sure how to make this come about." A phone call from the management of the Metropolis changed that. The two sat down, brainstormed, made calls, sent faxes and on Nov. 4, 1994, kicked off the first Oyé party. It was a three-ring circus of danceable, high-energy Latin music, complete with bands, DJs, dance lessons, projections and film reels. A little Latinpalooza, tailor-made for Montreal. Despite the occasional visit from a big-name out-of-town act (Cuba's master mimics Vocal Sampling, for instance), Montreal is Linares' main resource centre for quality musicians. More importantly, this town's Latin community is set up in a way that suits the directives of Oyé perfectly. "People here come from so many places," says Linares, "and the community is so small that you have to mix things to please everybody. You go to New York, for example, and it's very polarized. The people that are into salsa only want to listen to salsa. The people that are into merengue only want to listen to merengue." Considering that Montreal Latinos must share newspapers, radio stations, community centres and so forth, it makes sense that they also be familiar with the differences that distinguish them. Music is an excellent tool for achieving that aim. "For instance," says Linares, "people from Central America who have never seen the mountains don't know much about Andean music." The folk music of Chile and Peru is a good introduction to the indigenous roots of Latin culture, just as cumbia echoes the African aspects and tango shows the old-world Spanish character of Argentina. Multiply this geographic variety by several generations of musical evolution, and the Latin scene begins to take on larger dimensions. Linares is aware that younger Latinos have their own musical interests, so he's established El Rancho Loco, in the Savoy room off the main hall of Metropolis. There, you'll find DJ Oliver spinning Latin ska and rock en espanol, as well as Latin reggae band ALIA2 (aliados, or allies) and the mereng-house stylings of Latin E-Mage. Hold on... mereng-house? Makes perfect sense to Linares. "Add a tambora and aguirra to a house tune and you've got meringue. Add a kick and heavy bass to meringue, and you've got house." Not surprisingly, house and techno DJs have been pillaging Latin music forever. After its first 13 instalments, Oyé went on hiatus in December '95. Conflicts with the former management of Metropolis, as well as an exhausted pool of novel ideas, led Linares to take a break. Since then, his partner Mendoza has bailed for a marketing direction gig at Virgin Records in Toronto, though he and Linares still work together in whichever capacity they can. Regardless, new management at Metropolis meant that as of last month, Oyé was back in action. And Linares has a whole new bag of tricks to spice up round two. "For the new series, we want to add a visual-arts element, bring in some prominent Latin artists to display paintings, sculptures and photos. To keep that cultural aspect within the framework that we already have." Of course, the combination of drinking, dancing and fragile artwork sounds like a recipe for disaster, so we'll see where that goes. In the meantime, Linares has other socially responsible angles. Bring a non-perishable food item for the Sun Youth basket, and you'll get a buck off your next Oyé ticket. Future recipients of such goodwill include a shelter for victims of conjugal violence, which Linares contends is a serious issue among Latinos. For all the noble aims of Oyé, Linares realizes that the only way to pull this caper off (and arguably the most commendable of philanthropic acts) is to throw a ridiculously good party. "The bottom line is that people come and have fun," he says. Oyé is indeed Latin Music 101, but you can leave your textbooks on the shelf, and the only homework will be wrestling with your hangover on Saturday morning. With Fernando Munaico & Orquestra Canela, DJ G-Money and much more, Friday, Dec. 5 at Metropolis, 10pm, $10
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You can probably distinguish a Mexican rancheros number from a salsa, but can you tell Cuban salsa from Venezuelan? "Many people think that when you get to the border of Mexico," says Ed Linares of Antara Productions, "all the way south, the music is the same." Linares's objective is to clue Montrealers in to the complex diversity of music from Latin America, and by extension enlighten us about the history, culture and current issues of that region. "We want to educate people about the different styles of Latin music, although we aren't going to sit them down in a classroom and say, 'Welcome to Latin Music 101.'"