Constrained by the limit of drum sounds, Cuban percussionist Carlos “Patato” Valdez contributed to the invention of the tunable conga, opening a whole new world of possibilities while bringing the traditional Afro-Cuban flavor to the US since the 1950s. His work with Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, and Quincy Jones helped contaminate Jazz and popular music with Latin rhythms, but it is in his series of recordings for Latin Percussion Ventures where “Patato” shows the whole range of his genius.

“To y Van Hecho” has the syncretic quality that make descargas a vehicle for the expression of a patchwork of different times and experiences proper of Afro-Caribbean culture, resembling a movement of huida hacia adelante, an escape forward.