A superb combination of talents makes this effort one of the finest recordings of the '60s, but sadly it represents the closing of an era. This was the band's final album with Gema Records;
Ismael Rivera was just a year away from his imprisonment, and six members of the band would form El Gran Combo, one of Puerto Rico's longest-running acts. Nevertheless, Gema artist
Rolando La Serie joins in, and never in his career has he sounded more gleeful and good spirited, almost matching
Rivera's abilities. That is a high attribute, considering that
Rivera was at his peak. "Moliendo Café," the perennial favorite "En Mi Viejo San Juan," "Severa," "Sola y Triste," the rousing "La Máquina y la Madama," and the evocative "Los Carreteros" are all memorable moments, one after the other. Never before has this outfit worked out so rabidly. ~ José A. Estévez, Jr.