The Singles Jukebox

Checking in with the tropical (hold the house) charts…

[Video]
[6.88]

Nortey Dowuona: AT LAST. THE DRUMS ARE GROOVING AND SNAPPING. THE TRUMPETS ARE TRIUMPHANT AND PROUD. THE BASS IS SLINKY AND GROOVING… WAIT… IS THAT A GOOD TRAP BREAKDOWN?! THIS SONG IS THE GREATEST THING EVER.
[10]

Josh Langhoff: A conservatory trained singer, capable of negotiating Cuba’s vast musical terrain with the plainspoken virtuosity of her voice, goes four chord Zumba banger. Already I can feel the wobbly-legged breakdown in my thighs.
[7]

Juana Giaimo: Aymee Nuviola did a classic rumba song with positive spirit lyrics to forget the problems of everyday life and let your body and mind dance to the music. Unfortunately, it’s rather generic and lacks a distinctive element that could place it in its contemporary society.
[6]

Stephen Eisermann: Sometimes you just want to get lost on the dance floor, in Tijuana, at a random bar on Sexta, and forget that all of this horrible shit is going on in the United States. Thank you, Aymee, for giving me that escape with horns, bilingual lyrics, and a happiness in your delivery that washes away the hurt. Losing Celia in 2003 was horrible, but Aymee’s doing a great job of giving us a current option to remember a happier, more danceable time.
[8]

Ashley John: Relentless and fierce, “Rumba de la Buena”  holds a steady level of exuberant energy for its duration. The entire song sounds like you cut straight to the peak of it. Aymee Nuviola gives us gift of a song that sounds like it’s made by a person who actually enjoys dancing, a novelty!
[6]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Have to give credit for how seamless this sounds, especially since that trap breakdown is able to enter and exit so gracefully. But for how cohesive everything here is, there’s a sense that it all sounds undistinguished and muted as a result. Granted, the song’s lyrics touch on escapism and “Rumba de la Buena” is certainly able to provide the headspace for that. It’s just that it feels more like mindless, passive engagement than something truly captivating.
[5]

Leonel Manzanares de la Rosa: This feels somewhere in between Albita’s transcendental “Ta’ Bueno Ya” and Juan Luis Guerra’s perico ripiao escapades, but it’s really all about Aymee’s confident, magnetic performance, showing us not only that it took some serious charisma to play Celia, but that some of that charm is her own. What makes Rumba, indeed, Buena is its promise to make you feel liberated, and this track does deliver.
[7]

Alfred Soto: My local Latin radio stations play variants on “Rumba de la Buena” every hour, and often I change to R&B or country. Visiting a friend at a Chicago, Seattle, or Santo Domingo dance party will change my mind — will change my ass — right quick.
[6]