Some 12 years ago, I was lucky enough to take my Vinyl crusade to Central and South America, as a free, semi-skint but fearless, young Knight, fresh out of training. Whilst travelling around Colombia and Brazil I made it a matter of practice to go record hunting whenever I could. Some of the records listed here are tracks I found on my travels.
Finding good vinyl, the real bad ass tunes, even in musically rich countries such as Colombia and Brazil, was not as easy as I thought. One of my most memorable moments involved traveling into the depths of Bogota to locate this little man who sold discos out of a portable record shack, kind of like a portable Kebab van/trailer that was just dumped unceremoniously on the side of the street. The whole thing was rammed to the roof with vinyl and a multitude of homemade speakers - the guy hardly had any room to move, let alone get out. It was like someone had built his castle around him. The locals and Mr. Disco took me under their wing. The Salsa and Descarga flowed, as did the Aguadiente (which is to the Colombians what tequila is to the Mexicans). The local collectors pulled out tunes for me, Mr. Disco dropped them on his system and we danced in the street all night.
Whilst in Colombia I also fell in love with one the country’s most famous exports… Shakira! Shakira, if you’re reading this… I do love you and I’m sorry I left you standing in the rain like that, but my quest for the Holy Grail of Vinyl was (and still is) the most important thing in my life. Next time chicariña… I promise.
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