My favorite ex-Menudo is back with his first album completely en español, after 12 years of doing the bilingual thing. After hunting all over for Vino to see if it had leaked, me tuve que conformar con replaying his 1996 hit album Vagabundo over and over. Then, I was actually able to hear two new songs he’s got up on his MySpace, “Te Fumare” and “Desnudo,” both promising tunes that reveal he’s still raro, just the way I like my doses of Draco. So, not many people got the album in advance, but we do know he covers/adapta Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and “One Too Many Mornings” by Bob Dylan, one of Draco’s icons. I’m posting this after midnight and so I just got my paws on the album online for sale but….OJO! if you get Vino on his site you’ll also get a live DVD, so consider that instead.
Earlier, it had caused me an itch not being able to find it online, so while I was at it, Nuria asked, cuál es la obsesión (colectiva) con Robi Draco Rosa? We can’t tell. Is it the fact that he’s sooo mysteeeerius? That he can pen hits like “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and have his own recording studio, Phantom Vox Studios in LA, and website Phantom Vox and do whatever he wants? He released his last album, El teatro del absurdo, solamente en Puerto Rico last year, and now comes up with Vino, which is basically the same set of songs.
He can walk the commercial line and still be one of the most elusive musicians out there. And on his website, part-community of rabid Draco fans, part personal ramblings on everything from Hunter S. Thompson quotes, to world news, to Robi (digo, Draco) selling his own coffee brand from his hacienda in Puerto Rico, Hacienda Horizonte, in the mountain town of Utuado. Is Robi our new rock star du jour? [Nuria: Is he our own Bono (without a cause..except “Puerto Ricanness” while living in LA, and apparent excentricity for a married father of three?] Excuse me, DRACO. He’s officially dropped the Robi, ya ese nombre no se presta. That’s why I couldn’t find his album online, its just Draco Rosa now.
“Vino” Live: