Abriendo Puertas
(Opening Doors) is
Gloria Estefan
's second Spanish-language album released in the U.S.
is about opening doors to the myriad Latin American cultures; therefore, this album features several different
Latin
styles of music from different parts of the world, including Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, and the Caribbean. The music combines
salsas
,
merengues
boleros
Afro-Cuban
rhythms and chants, and other styles, resulting in a varied, sunny, and delightful album. This set differs from her other Spanish albums because at least half the songs are
holiday
tunes, with ample reference to Christmas and the New Year (the
ballad
"Mas Alla"
even has Christmas bells in the background). In Latin America, Christmas is in summer, and so, in essence, this is a summer holiday album, which is quite an unusual concept for North American audiences. The songs are naturally positive, with well-meaning wishes for the New Year being a concurrent theme throughout the album.
Estefan
, as is always the case on her Spanish albums, sounds completely at ease with the material. The music on this album is traditional; therefore, there are no true American-style
pop
or
club/dance
songs, which is fine because the album should be taken and enjoyed for what it is -- a bright, multicultural Latin American semi-
album. ~ Jose F. Promis