Rating:
Genre:
Latin
Release Date: 04/01/2003
In Spanish, the word "homenaje" means "homage" or "tribute." When
salsa/
Latin jazz giant
Tito Puente recorded an album titled
Homenaje a Beny Moré in 1978, he was paying homage to one of the top
Afro-Cuban bandleaders of the '40s and '50s -- he was saluting
Beny Moré's accomplishments. Similarly, Mexican-American
banda/
corrido vocalist
Jenni Rivera pays homage to some of the major Mexican singers -- specifically, female singers -- on
Homenaje a las Grandes. The title
Homenaje a las Grandes means "homage to the great ones," and
Rivera salutes a variety of singers who have had a major impact on Mexican music -- including
Mercedes Castro on
"Ahora Vengo a Verte," Lucha Villa and
Rocio Dúrcal on
"Juro Que Nunca Volvere," and the late
Lola Beltrán on a medley of
"Por un Amor" and
"Cucurrucucu Paloma." And
Rivera, much to her credit, is smart enough to salute these "estrellas mexicanas" (Mexican female stars) on her own terms; she makes certain that her own vibrant personality shines through instead of actually emulating any of them.
Rivera also salutes someone who most definitely
isn't Mexican --
Diana Ross -- on an unlikely remake of
the Supremes'
"Where Did Our Love Go," which is the CD's only English-language track and lends itself surprisingly well to a
banda/
corrido makeover. You wouldn't expect to find a
Ross/
Supremes classic on what is primarily a tribute to Mexican singers, but then, classic
soul has been tremendously popular among Mexican-Americans over the years -- and
Ross has certainly sold a ton of albums in Chicano neighborhoods. So when you think about it, the inclusion of
"Where Did Our Love Go" makes perfect sense for
Rivera, whose
Homenaje a las Grandes deserves to go down in history as one of the most thoughtful, well-organized Mexican releases of 2003.
~Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
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