Suena el Sur (Delanuca, 2005)

South America has long been a fervent supporter of reggae (Jimmy Cliff has been big in Brazil since the '60s, for instance.), but so far, the only South American act to crack the US market is Chile's Gondwana.  But as Suena el Sur shows, there are plenty more acts south of the Equator (or thereabouts) releasing quality reggae.  Remarkably, this album focuses solely on Argentinean acts, an indication of the wealth of talent in jus that one country, much less the entire continent.  While there is a mild Latin flavor to some tracks (check out the accordion on "Quien Mata Sueños" by the aptly named Coff Coff, whose gravelly, talky delivery is like Lee Perry mixed with Tom Waits), the overall sound is very faithful to the classic Jamaican roots style.  Of course, the great majority of the lyrics are in Spanish, but as with Gondwana, you don't have to speak the language to appreciate the universal sound.  There's a little something for all types of roots fans, from the righteous sound of the Culture-like "Resistencia Suburbana" to the fun funk of "Sin Contaminantes" to the melancholy "Atahualpa" to the catchy pop edge of "Mawa."  Suena el Sur is an engrossing taste of the international reggae flavor, something we in the US unfortunately don't get as much as we should.  Indeed, it's comparable in quality and sound to the excellent '90s Latin reggae compilation Viva la Rasta.  Check it out at delanuca.com.