"Africa Boogaloo: The Latinization Of West Africa". African musicians seem to have an unquenchable fascination for the music of Latin America, especially Cuba. And why not? Much of what makes modern Latin music so irresistible came from Africa in the first place. When the first waves of African rhythms, reconstituted in the Caribbean, returned home on radios and records, Africansespecially in West and central Africareceived them with great enthusiasm. Staid dance bands that replicated European music soon began to swing as Caribbean accents settled in their rhythm sections. By the 1950s Africa had produced its own Calypsonians, and more than one African musician changed his name to give it a Latin flavour. Sierra Leone's Gerald Pine, for example, became Geraldo Pino, and Congo-Brazzaville's Jean Serge Essous called himself Jerry Lopez for a time. Some even composed songs in Spanish, while others wrote nonsense lyrics that only sounded like the real thing. There is no better evidence of this push-me-pull-you, back-and-forthing than the Afro-Latin compilation we have here.