Tengo un Ritmo Bueno Pa' Bailar

Rumbon Melon by Joey Pastrana with Ismael Miranda on vocals

The chorus of Rumbon Melon says it all: “Tengo un Ritmo Bueno Pa’ Bailar.” When playing this gem in a set, it’s what I’m trying to communicate to the dancer: I got a goody in store for ya’. In my book, Rumbon Melon is damn right near as close to a perfect song as you can find and naturally represents my style. I prefer medium speed songs with soneros that, much like Ismael Miranda, master improvisation. The beauty of this song is that there are no timbales or trumpet solos that you can point to for its dopeness yet the random band member comments and Miranda’s work give it the air of a descarga. It’s the combination of Miranda’s youthful voice, the female chorus that only Pastrana seemed to consistently pull off, and the strong campanas following drops in the music that keeps me excited about salsa clasica. My favorite line from this classic is “con migo baila hasta el cojo”, a reminder that this genre was created to get your body, your soul moving.

The changes and breaks in the music give the feel of a somewhat shorter song than the 6 minutes it’s approaching, making Rumbon Melon the exception to the cardinal salsa law of not playing songs that are too long at a salsa event. (See The Mambo Scene discussion on the matter.)  DJ Rob Suave understood this when playing Rumbon Melon at Manny’s Providence Salsa Ball in Rhode Island’s historic Biltmore Hotel this past fall. I had the pleasure of having this dance with Andrea of Salsa y Control. This song always takes me back to that awesome dance and the good friendship I developed with Andrea on my brief return to Boston last year. Towards the end of the night a group of dancers were hooked to singing the catchy chorus, wondering “what song was that?” Jennifer Earls from MetaMovements’ smile while singing “Tengo un Ritmo Bueno Pa’ Bailar” as she walked through the hotel doors at the end of the night was proof of how this song helped make this event a dancing success.

Ataca Jorgie & La Alemana dancing at Salsa Caliente Social to Rumbon Melon

I later played this jam at MetaMovements’ Monthly Salsa Social in December and immediately received a dance floor thumbs up from Carlos “Niche” Acevedo. Watching his relationship to the song through his creativity and witnessing the enjoyment Rumbon Melon transmitted produced a rare moment of clarity, “this is why I DJ!” That split second of Niche’s quick gesture is exactly why I fell in love with salsa clasica. Niche didn’t have to say a word. His glance let me know he was feeling the exact same emotion DJ Travieso and I undergo when we proclaim “Thank You Chango for kick ass salsa!”

Peace
DJ Walt

Rumbon Melon was recorded on the album Let's Ball and released on Cotique Records.  One of the more exciting LP collecting memories was when I found this album hidden at the back end of a record stack at Disco Archivo.  The picture on the back cover with Ismael Miranda looking quite young is the best part of this LP.