The story takes place in an impoverished neighbourhood of Manhattan, where Pedro, looking for his next victim, encounters a prostitute roaming the streets. Based on Bertolt Brecht’s Threepenny Opera, it is probably the most popular and well-known song on the record and it recounts the tragic tale of a shrewd and calculating criminal by the name of Pedro Navaja (literally, Peter the Knife or Peter the Blade). Last but not least, we have “Pedro Navaja”, which is in fact the third track on Siembra. Maybe it wasn’t the right woman after all…
Perhaps as a counterpoint to “Buscando guayaba”, in “Dime” the singer talks of the pangs of love and his longing for the feeling of heartbreak to end.
Its delicious melody, tropical rhythm and finger-licking trombone solos are as sweet as the flesh of the guava fruit the song’s title and lyrics make reference to. The first is a track about the singer’s quest for the right woman. Leaving social and political issues to one side, we have “Buscando guayaba” and “Dime”. This first half transitions into a call to all Latin Americans not to fall prey to this seemingly comfortable yet vapid way of life. The first half of the song explores the shallow behaviour of a man and a woman who have bought into a lifestyle of consumerism and false appearances. As for its lyrics, “Plástico” denounces the superficial and materialistic attitudes adopted by some Latinos during the 70s and 80s due to the influence of American capitalism. The funk soon breaks into an explosion of very spicy flavoured salsa. Colón is simply incorporating elements of a genre born and developed in the USA into the traditionally Cuban rhythm and instrumentation of salsa music. How could this be?ĭon’t worry, nobody’s been messing around with your record collection (you’re probably streaming the damn thing anyway!). For the first 40 odd seconds this might have the listener believe their copy of Siembra has somehow been replaced with something by Kool & The Gang. The instant classic and masterpiece “Plástico” introduces the record which starts off with some very groovy funk.
Salsa is based on Cuban music and it incorporates various elements from other genres
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