De Mi Alma Latina Explained

De Mi Alma Latina
Type:Album
Artist:Plácido Domingo
Cover:Placido_Domingo_-_De_Mi_Alma_Latina.jpg
Released:13 September 1994
Genre:Latin pop
Length:1:13:06
Language:Spanish
Label:Angel Records, EMI Latin
Producer:Bebu Silvetti
Prev Title:Domingo Sings and Conducts Tchaikovsky
Prev Year:1994
Next Title:Bajo El Cielo Español
Next Year:1996

De Mi Alma Latina (also known as From My Latin Soul) is a 1994 Latin music album by Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album of the year.[1] Most of the tracks on the album are medleys of, in the words of one author, "some of the Latino world's most memorable melodies."[2] The only new composition on the album, "De México a Buenos Aires", was written by Domingo's son Plácido Domingo Jr. All the songs are in Spanish, except for "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Aquarela do Brasil", which are in Portuguese. Domingo also used "De Mi Alma Latina" and "From My Latin Soul" as the names for some of his subsequent Latin music concerts.[3] [4] In 1997, he released a follow-up album entitled De Mi Alma Latina 2.

Background

Both Angel Records and EMI Latin worked together on the album. The president of EMI Latin explained that both labels were trying to "reach every possible Placido fan out there, be it Latino or opera."[5] In addition to the audio recording, Domingo starred in a music video of one of the songs on the album, the Peruvian classic "La Flor de la Canela", with Colombian actress Amparo Grisales.[6]

Reception

The reviewer for The Washington Post praised the album as in some ways "the most satisfying record Domingo has made." After stating that numerous good recordings of operas exist, he elaborated: "But you don't find much when you start looking (as I have) for a recording of 'Aquellos ojos verdes' or 'Solamente una vez' sung with a voice of Domingo's caliber and an instinct for the proper style." He also called Domingo "versatile as any musician in living memory" in part for the variety of recordings he had out at the time, including De Mi Alma Latina, the opera Parsifal, the classical symphonic album, Placido Domingo Sings and Conducts Tchaikovsky, and re-issues of Placido Domingo: Opera Classics and Verdi and Puccini Duets (with Leontyne Price).[7] Domingo's multi-platinum live recording as part of the Three Tenors, The Three Tenors in Concert 1994, also came out two weeks before De Mi Alma Latina.[8]

In January 1995, the recording's Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album was the first ever received by the classical music label, Angel Records. At the time of the album's nomination, Billboard Magazine called De Mi Alma Latina underrated and predicted that Domingo might beat frontrunner and eventual winner Luis Miguel for his Segundo Romance.

Chart positions

Chart
(1994)
Peak
position
UK[9] 97
US Classical Crossover4
US Latin[10] 6
US Latin Pop4

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. Lannert. John. Latin Notas. Billboard. January 21, 1995. 36. October 4, 2015.
  2. Book: Bruns. Roger. Icons of Latino America: Latino contributions to American culture. registration. 2008. Greenwood Press. Westport, Conn.. 978-0313340871. 201.
  3. Book: Sotolongo. Antonio Gómez. El corazón de América en un concierto: crónicas dominicanas (1998 - 2008). 2009. Gómez Sotolongo. S.l.. 9780557193325. 192–4. 1..
  4. News: Ritzel. Rebecca J.. Music Review: Plácido Domingo Gives a Long, Lively Show at DAR Constitution Hall. October 4, 2015. The Washington Post. May 4, 2009.
  5. Lannert. John. Latin Notas. Billboard. July 23, 1994. 36. October 4, 2015.
  6. News: El Tenor Más Lindo del Mundo: Amparo Grisales. October 5, 2015. El Tiempo. March 29, 1995. Bogotá, Colombia. Spanish.
  7. News: McLellan. Joseph. CLASSICAL RECORDINGS: PLACIDO DOMINGO: A TENOR WIDENS HIS BASE. October 4, 2015. The Washington Post. January 15, 1995.
  8. Web site: The Three Tenors in Concert 1994. AllMusic. October 5, 2015.
  9. Web site: From My Latin Soul. Official Charts (UK). October 1, 2015.
  10. Web site: De Mi Alma Latina: Awards. AllMusic.