THE most passionate and thrilling voices in Latin American music swept away an audience at Newcastle City Hall. If the evening was revelational to devotees, to any initiate, the experience was simply mind-blowing. Every synapse worked overtime, absorbing an electrifying triple bill of Susana Baca, Lila Downs and Yusa. Styles included lando, festejo, Mexican cumbia and classic ranchera; instruments a cahon box drum, checo (hollowed-out pumpkin skin) and quijada (a rattle made of a donkey jawbone complete with teeth).

The programme opened with the effervescent Cuban singer Yusa, whose consummate guitar playing conveyed the restless spirit of the homeland in a mixture of ballads and scat. The music of Mexico's striking Lila Downs exuded an infectious energy. The daughter of north American and Mixtec Indian parents, whose life straddled the divide, her music reflects her experience of crossing borders. Singing in English, Mayan and Spanish, her powerful voice tackled notes ranging from the bass lines to high Cs with equal force. In her bar song, Paloma Negra, with its painfully plaintive tones, she drew out what seemed a record-breaking breath, which had the audience gasping. As for her Mexican-Paraguayan harpist, Celso Duarte, he brought the house down with some scorching passages. The evening climaxed with an astral performance from Afro Peruvian singer Susana Baca, whose every graceful move flowed with her music. The CDs went like hot cakes. As for the head - it took a few hours to cool down. Simply searing.

Published: 22/06/2004