Desde Mi Barrio en Chicago

Before a single guitar string was picked inside Universal’s $60-per-hour “A” room, Orquesta La Solución had run through the 11 tracks that would make up Desde Mi Barrio en Chicago (or Around My Neighborhood in Chicago) a hundred times. The result was a freshman LP that shattered the expectations of the staunchest critics. Dynamic, mature, and contemplative, the 1973 Desde Mi Barrio en Chicago, released on Carlos “Caribe” Ruiz’s Ebirac label, distinguished La Solución as one of Chicago’s finest salsa outfits.

As the entirety of La Solución was raised stateside and none of the singers spoke natural Spanish, Puerto Rican-born singer Hector del Valle was added to the group shortly before the session to help other singers perfect phrasing and cadence. La Solución’s sets were devoted primarily to their re-arrangements of traditional Puerto Rican folk music—including the excellent “Historia De Cueros”—though three originals managed to make the cut: “Sufriendo,” “Pensamiento,” and “Con El Tres En La Mano.”