El Mambo de Chokolate
(RB Entertainment)




by Elena Álvarez-Ramírez
MAR 2007
Get ready for a hard-core,
stomach-cramping, non-stop dancing merengueCD. Chokolate’s first release,
Mambo de Kalle y Que? is a good addition to any merengue album
collection. Although some of the lyrics can be a bit limited, as found in a
couple of the tracks, merengue is often more about the music than the lyrics.
Chokolate sings about food (a favorite subject for many, many Latinos), about
women (no! really?) and about what else, but café. Most of the tracks
are fast-paced, except for a few slower ones like “Deja Ese Loco,” which is a
smooth piece with sweet verses about a man asking a woman to please leave the
man she’s currently with because he isn’t the right one for her. Another track
to snuggle up to your dance partner to is “Me Falta Loco,” a track where Choko
gives his best at a romantic, more refined voice. The album also offers a live
version of the single “El Café,” a track whose chorus may annoy after a few
loops yet still offers almost five minutes of great dancing fun. After all, if
you don’t burn calories dancing to Chokolate’s music, you’ll definitely burn
calories laughing at some of the funny lyrics.