Original Review 9 March 2005 I am not a Mexican, but I have circulated for years in the Mexican parts of Los Angeles, and I have travelled throughout Mexico, enjoying the native musicians on street corners and in parks and cafes. I have always wondered about those who praise Lola Beltran as the great Mexican singer. She sounds too urbane and too international to me--in the manner of Catarina Valente. I always thought the real spirit of Mexican music was better represented by such as Las Hermanas de Alba. And now Linda Ronstadt carries on the true Mexican tradition in her later work. Whatever else she may have sung in her career, I find in Linda's Mexican singing the authentic flavor of Old Mexico. Update 17 May 2006 Last night as I was browsing the reviews of this record, I got curious about the various comparisons to Lola Beltran. Not having listened to Lola for quite some time, I went through a stack of stuff from both Linda and Lola to refresh my ear. My conclusion. Lola is good, but Linda is better. Linda has a much broader emotional range. With all of her musical excelence, Lola has a dreadful sameness from song to song--even songs which should be handled quite differently. For example, It is quite disconcerting to hear Lola back to back on Ya No and Me equivoque contigo--songs which should be very different in emotional tone sound all too similar. As it happens, I heard the latter song on the radio a few days ago by a male artist. His rendition shoots Lola's down the drain. By contrast, Linda's emotional range is both subtle and immense. For example, from her Tata Dios, which wrenches me to tears every time I hear it, to the mock seriousness of her El toro relajo, which is always worth a good laugh. After reviewing a batch of Lola's work this morning, I can't imagine her ever having such an effect on me. Lola still strikes me as a city person trying to sing country. Whatever else Linda may have done in her life, she somehow manages to dig her toes into the true country soil of Old Mexico. Viva Linda!