Coming out of fighting cancer, Ex-Menudo member Robby Rosa (or as he is known now Draco Rosa) released a sixteen-track duet album entitled, VIDA. The album is a symbol of his fight and his survival beating cancer that was found near his liver. During treatment, he knew that if he were to beat it that he needed to come back strong and show the world his new life. He announced the album during his treatment and it was almost two years in the making.
Draco Rosa’s Vida brings together many of Latin America’s top artists, and not just rock and pop music; but influential artists in many genres including Bachata’s top star Juan Luis Guerra, Salsa’s Marc Anthony, Urban rap artist Tego Caulderon, and others. The song’s chosen from Draco’s discography as there are no new songs and for the most part, the music flows a bit different from the original versions with slight changes to incorporate the musical styles of his friends. I feel that the album is dark and depressing. I know Draco’s style tends to be on the darker and harder side, but for an album that is supposed to be his life-changing album that celebrates his life and his beating cancer, I almost feel that the damp and somber side of cancer shown more into the album versus the happiness of kicking cancer’s ass.
For the most part, I am like Draco’s music; but so far this is one album that I was honestly disappointed in. Okay, there are a few good duets like his duet with Ricky Martin in the song, “Mas Y Mas”, and not just because I love Ricky but their voices are just so similar that the combination and harmony are completely in sync. I also was impressed with Calle 13’s version of “Madre Tierra”. Now, as for formats…this was reviewed via the vinyl version. I actually never owned the digital version of this album and purchased it this past week on vinyl. This gets a low D in my grade of the quality of the product you get for the money. Yes, it was a gatefold cover which is why it doesn’t get an F. But there is nothing but credits in the middle. No photos other than the cover shot. I would have expected photos from the recordings, pictures of Draco and his artists on the album. There are no lyrics and the inner sleeves are just black. The vinyl was thin, not 180 gram; so it feels cheap.
Overall, if you are a Draco Rosa fan then you probably already own Vida. While I want artists to succeed and I love promoting great products and albums; I think you can sample the tracks online and just download the ones you like. I don’t think that the album is worth it as a whole.
Since that day, I have been study Latin pop and rock music and have become a Latin pop music historian through the publishing of articles, fanzine, and websites. My goal is to teach people about Latin pop music and the history behind it with my website, Siempre En Domingo.
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