Palos (Afro-Dominican drums of Yoruba origin) and Merengues compose this volume devoted to Afro-Dominican music, part of a larger series on popular music from the island. Besides the palos, the guiro and the tambora fill these recordings with a sound that is indubitably unique of Quisqueya, evidence of the local and hyper-local developments of the African diaspora and its creative interactions and collaborations with indigenous populations.

For anyone who grew up in the Hispanic Caribbean with at least a subtle contact with popular music, “Apágame la Vela” is an anthem. The interpretation presented here as a field recording, though, with its mumbled vocals and sense of spontaneity, is a reminder of how merengue and other rhythms were and are perhaps best expressed and shared.