A Year-End Rally for Rock En Espanol Two recent releases display the budding genre’s true vitality.

Let’s say you have finally become a rock en espan~ol fan.

With the mainstream media now paying attention to Latin rock, you might have listened to Aterciopelados on the radio, purchased the latest album by Cafe Tacuba, or seen Fabulosos Cadillacs in concert. Maybe you loved the music of those groups, three of the field’s heavyweights.

What do you do next?

In a market flooded with Latin releases of all kinds, it’s hard to identify the new rock en espan~ol records that are actually worth your time.

Luckily, two recent releases bring a happy ending to a year that saw only a handful of notable efforts in the genre.

*** 1/2 Andres Calamaro, “Honestidad Brutal” WEA Latina. The follow-up to the Argentina-born, Spain-based artist’s widely acclaimed 1997 album “Alta Suciedad” is a stylistic tour de force, even if it’s been pared down to a 12-song CD for its U.S. release, from the two-disc, 37-song form available in Europe and Latin America.

The album, whose title translates as “Brutal Honesty,” is based on Calamaro’s motto that “honesty is not a virtue, but an obligation.” With that in mind, he decided to write, rehearse and record each song in a single day, capturing the essence of the tunes as they were being created.

In the opening track, “El Dia de la Mujer Mundial,” you can feel a unique voice surfacing among the fuzzy guitars and heavy 4/4 drums. Calamaro talks about driving through the countryside with a friend, smoking a joint, listening to the radio and thinking about a woman he has left behind. The song evokes the pure rock poetry of a Bob Dylan or a Bruce Springsteen.

Other tunes include the bouncy “Maradona,” which includes a spoken interlude by the famous soccer player of the title, the tango “Jugar Con Fuego” (with celebrated composer Mariano Mores on the piano) and the romantic “Paloma,” the kind of crunchy power ballad rock en espan~ol should attempt more often.

*** Various artists, “Tributo a Sandro,” BMG Latin. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, the flamboyant singer Sandro became a popular idol with a series of sappy, ultra-romantic ditties that made him a Latin American cross between Elvis Presley and Tom Jones, and a sort of distant cousin of Mexican crooner Jose Jose. This tribute to the Argentine singer brings together 13 notable Latin rock artists, underscoring the huge influence romantic pop from decades past has had on rock en espan~ol.

Highlights include tracks by Fabulosos Cadillacs, Molotov, Bersuit Vergarabat and Bel Mondo (a reincarnation of the excellent group La Portuaria).

But the best moment belongs to Colombia’s Aterciopelados, which offers an elegantly passionate rendition of the song “Penas.” Andrea Echeverri’s voice, coupled with bassist Hector Buitrago’s sly use of electronica techniques and trip-hop moods, suggests that the band’s next album is likely to continue Aterciopelados’ tenure as one of Latin music’s most original outfits.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PAST: Until recently, Cuban group Los Van Van was known in America as one of the most technically daring salsa outfits, playing the fast-paced style known as timba with an aggressive attitude that can leave you dizzy--and maybe a little confused. The band’s recent appearance at Universal Amphitheatre showcased its technical prowess, as well as its marked emotional and aesthetic limitations.

Now “The Legendary Los Van Van,” a two-disc set released by Ashe Records, tells an altogether different story--the tale of a fascinating group that sold its soul and lost its capacity for innovation.

In the ‘90s, timba was invented in Havana to satisfy dancers who demanded faster beats, funkier breaks and a more erotic experience on the dance floor. At its best, timba boils with rejuvenating energy. At its worst, it is simply repetitious. Los Van Van and its rival NG La Banda pioneered this new style, which soon influenced newer artists such as Bamboleo and Manolin.

In contrast, the recordings Los Van Van made during the first half of its 30-year career showcase a chameleonic group that explored the boundaries of salsa and rock with equal ease.

“La Havana Joven,” arguably the collection’s most inspired moment, is a crackling nugget recorded in 1974. Framed by the violins and flute typical of a traditional charanga ensemble, the tune is enriched by the funky drums of percussionist Changuito and an electric piano solo that could easily fit in an album by Steely Dan.

The filters and distortion on the vocals suggest late ‘60s psychedelia, while the idealistic lyrics, about the meeting of two young lovers and their sunny plans for the future, have an enchanting, hippie naivete about them.

The set also includes a couple of ballads, a form that would never be allowed in Los Van Van’s current frantic repertoire.

The band’s upbeat numbers are also far superior in their original recordings. The 1980 studio version of the trademark Los Van Van hit “Sandunguera,” for instance, is a delight. The vocal is restrained and charged with eroticism, making the timbales, trombone and flute solos that much more explosive. When you hear the tune live these days, it loses the nuances that made it so distinctive.

The set offers a redeeming picture of a seminal band, but its most recent tracks hint at a bleak future for Afro-Caribbean music. It would appear that Cuban pop has shot itself in the foot.

Ernesto Lechner is a frequent contributor to Calendar.