Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos is the third studio álbum between the duo of Willie Colón and Rubén Blades released on September 20, 1981, by Fania Records. This being the second most successful album of the duo and the one that comes closest to being a post-boogalo album with the sounds of hard salsa characteristic of the Harlow Orchestra.
Background
Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos is the penultimate of four collaborative duo albums produced by Rubén Blades and Willie Colón for Fania. The songs were mainly composed by Blades ranging in theme from the political to the comical/playful. "Tiburón" has since become widely considered one of the highlights of Rubén Blades' songwriting career.
Reception
Although Grammy-nominated, Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos received little air play in the United States at the time of its release due to the political slant of the song "Tiburón" (literally, "Shark") referring to U.S. hegemony in Latin America. The main opposition to the composition came from the Cuban communities in the U.S. In 1991 Willie Colón reflected, "that type of composition caused us a lot of trouble, so much so that at one point when we were doing "Pedro Navaja" and "Tiburón" with Blades, we had to perform in bulletproof vests." However, reception was much warmer in Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries, where "Tiburón", "Te Están Buscando" and "Ligia Elena" were major radio hits.
Track listing
Personnel
Concept and Artistic Direction: Rubén Blades & Willie Colon Arrangements: Hector Garrido Javier Vazquez Luis Cruz Marty Sheller Rubén Blades Willie Colon Participating Musicians: Johnny Andrews Ruben Blades Sam Burtis Milton Cardona Willie Colon Salvador Cuevas Jimmy Delgado Andy González Reynaldo Jorge Lewis Kahn Jose Rodríguez Joe Santiago Joe Torres Engineers: Willie Colon Jon Fausty Assistants: Kevin Zambrana Henry Monzon Original Cover Design: Izzy Sanabria Designer: Jorge Vargas Photographer: Lee Marshall Hair Stylist for Willie Colon: James Perez Produced By: Willie Colon & Ruben Blades for WAC Productions, Inc.