Summer refreshments

It’s been a slow and sluggish season for Latin music releases. Major artists have released albums recently that are either dull (Gilberto Santa Rosa), redundant (Daddy Yankee), uninspired (Diego Torres), unbearable (RBD) or impenetrable (Juana Molina). But it’s not hopeless. Here are a few albums that cut through the muggy summer of ’06. -- Agustin Gurza

**

Classic sentiments, heartbreaking style

Alicia Villarreal

“Orgullo de Mujer”

(Universal Music Latino)

MEXICAN records are like tortillas. They’re a staple of the Latin record business, but it’s hard to find one that stands out.

So it feels like a feast to savor the latest entry by this veteran vocalist from Monterrey, Mexico’s Seattle. This is straight-up mariachi music made the old-fashioned way, with the craft and beauty once associated with records stamped “Hecho en Mexico.”

Villarreal’s clear and heartfelt vocals avoid the screechy, weepy excesses that can mar this passionate country genre, which is not her first format. She started as lead singer with Grupo Limite, a popular combo playing norteno-style cumbias and ballads. Mariachi music is much more demanding in range, power and emotion, and Villarreal handles the challenge in her own style, with ease and grace.

But the secret to this album’s strength is in the writing, and the credit there belongs to Joan Sebastian, one of Mexico’s best country music composers and a star in his own right. With gorgeous arrangements, Sebastian taps the classic set of ranchera sentiment -- heartbreak, betrayal and the joy of getting even. He also taps his feminine side to give Villarreal a set that seems to come straight from the soul of a woman scorned.

In the obligatory kiss-off song, “El Rollito,” Villarreal pretends to play the submissive woman who tells the man who dumped her that “I don’t deserve your kisses.” Until she gets to the punch line of the chorus: “I deserve something better.”

She deserves the title of the album too: A Woman’s Pride.

**

Quirky love letters are easy to fall for

Julieta Venegas

“Limon y Sal” (Sony BMG)

THIS beguiling singer-songwriter was the darling of Mexico’s rock-en-espanol crowd until she went totally pop with her 2003 album, “Si.” Overnight, she vaulted from alternative obscurity to mainstream success. Sellout, some said.

The Tijuana native redeems herself -- somewhat -- with this latest collection of songs, written like love letters in rather conversational prose. But darn it, they grow on you. And the more you listen, the less they seem like just silly love songs.

Venegas wins over even the grumpiest of cynics with her quirky melodies, full of sunshine and childlike joy. For the artsy crowd, she adds an alternative twist with her off-kilter phrasing and languid diction, preserving a puzzling touch of detachment in a genre known for its over-the-top delivery.

The first impulse is to pull the plug on the second song, “Primer Dia” (First Day) with its -- ugh! -- reggaeton rhythm track and guest rap by Argentina’s Dante Spinetta. But then there’s that happy melody, her joy in the first declaration of love, the ambiguity of the romance, that unusual song bridge near the end. And you’re hooked.

The CD’s last half is stronger, ending with the irresistible “Te Voy a Mostrar” (I’m Going to Show You), and the accordion-spiked cumbia, “Sin Documentos” (Without Papers).

Now if Venegas would only stop making those ridiculous album covers.

**

Eclectic Spaniard elevates fusion

Huecco

“Huecco”

(Warner Music Latina)

WOW, reggaeton with melody, musicality, rhythmic variety and smarts! And that’s just the first track, “Pa Mi Guerrera” (For My Woman Warrior), from this Spaniard with the dreadlocks, guerrilla attitude and scary-good voice.

Huecco’s volcanic debut takes the concept of fusion, a specialty in Spain, to a new level. He invented rumbaton, a blend of Puerto Rico’s popular reggaeton and his home country’s rumba catalana, giving the monotonous digital beats a feel of real rhythm. But he also absorbs tango, salsa, punk, ska, samba and hip-hop in his high-octane yet organic mix.

Huecco doesn’t just dabble in styles; he adopts them. His salsa could well be Cuban. And his flamenco singing -- merely an inflection in lesser Spanish pop -- has echoes of canto hondo (deep song) from the gypsies of Andalucia.

The result is one of the most original and convincing new sounds in modern Latin music, driven by an authentic artistic vision.

Huecco’s songs are complex, taking surprising turns in tempo and using a range of instruments as varied as the styles. Recorded in North Hollywood, the album’s sound is dense and deep, but still clear, thanks to the engineering of Thom Russo (Audioslave, Juanes) and Grammy-winning producer KC Porter (Santana, Ricky Martin).

For an artist discovered and produced here in Los Angeles (he came here for voice lessons), it’s a shame he doesn’t get better promotion.

For now, he’s the year’s best-kept secret.

**

Mambos to keep dance floor jumping

Mamborama

“Directamente al Mambo”

(Yo Mambo/Ahi Nama)

THIS pulsating dance album is enough to make you stop bemoaning the death of salsa. Pianist, composer and Cubanophile Bill Wolfer invites some of Havana’s top timba musicians to join him on the third CD by his band, Mamborama. They include Los Van Van singer Roberto “Guayacan” Hernandez and NG La Banda’s Tony Cala and Jose Luis Cortes.

It takes skill and swing to mix it up in this league. Wolfer has the chops; the Palm Springs resident is a former soul-music session musician (Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson) who travels often to Cuba. He produced, arranged and wrote or co-wrote all 11 songs on this CD, which is simultaneously cool and scorching, jazzy and funky, like the best Cuban dance music.

The pedestrian lyrics don’t always live up to the high standards of modern Cuban bands. But their simplicity just shows what a good sonero (improvisational singer) can do given a simple idea to riff on.

Plus, who needs lyrics with music that makes you want to get up and dance?

**

Flamenco enriches pan-Latin pop songs

Nina Pastori

“Joyas Prestadas”

(Sony BMG)

FLAMENCO is Spanish soul, a wailing gypsy blues that taxes the heart as much as the vocal cords. Pastori, who hails from Cadiz, the cradle of the genre, brings some of that flamenco feeling to mainstream Spanish-language pop songs from various countries.

Her colleague, Diego El Cigala, tried a similar transposition to great effect in 2003’s “Lagrimas Negras,” bringing his gravelly, wrenching vocals to Cuban standards, accompanied by pianist Bebo Valdes. While the Cigala/Valdes collaboration seemed like a fresh take on familiar material, Pastori, who’s always leaned to the pop rather than purist side of flamenco, can’t escape the impression she’s using a formula here to reach a wider audience.

Still, her interpretations often enrich these pop songs with some of that flamenco soul, especially when she stays close to home. She brings new life to “Mediterraneo,” the classic ode to the historic sea by her compatriot Joan Manuel Serrat. And few singers could even attempt to render -- without sounding silly -- the existential angst of “Cuando Nadie Me Ve” (When Nobody Sees Me) by another fellow Spaniard, Alejandro Sanz.

The album title (“Borrowed Jewels”) also aptly applies to other numbers by top composers such as Armando Manzanero (“Todavia,” or “Still”) and Juan Luis Guerra (“Burbujas de Amor,” or “Bubbles of Love”).