Inti-Illimani - Amar De Nuevo (1999)

When Amar de Nuevo was recorded in Santiago, Chile, in 1998, Inti-Illimani had been together for 31 years. But the Chilean band was showing no signs of losing its freshness. After all those years, Inti-Illimani was still taking chances and continued to experiment with a variety of Latin styles. The music of South American Indians -- Chilean and Peruvian as well as Bolivian -- was still Inti-Illimani's foundation, and the band was still uniting that foundation with styles from all over Latin America. On this CD, South American music is successfully fused with everything from Afro-Cuban salsa ("Negra Presuntuosa," "La Fiesta Eres Tu") to Mexican ranchero ("Corrido de la Soberbia"). On the instrumental "Entre Amor," the Chileans combine Andean music with elements of tango. Those who have admired the band's previous releases will find Amar de Nuevo to be equally rewarding.