In February 2004, vocalist/songwriter/bandleader
Javier Torres was seriously injured in an auto accident on a highway in Zacatecas, Mexico. As a result,
Torres and his group
los Rehenes didn't work for five months -- no recording, no live performances. But
Torres eventually returned to recording, and
De Vuelta a la Vida is his first album since the accident. Stylistically, this 2004 release picks up where
Torres' pre-accident albums left off. His forte is still grupero, a sleek, romantic, pop-minded interpretation of regional Mexican music.
De Vuelta a la Vida draws on various Mexican styles, including norteño/Tex-Mex, cumbia mexicana (the Mexican version of Colombia's cumbia rhythm), ranchera, Sinaloa-style banda and duranguense (a horn-powered style that comes from Durango, Mexico). In regional Mexican circles, some believe that duranguense is a form of banda; others argue that duranguense isn't really part of banda -- whatever one's view on that subject, it is safe to say that even though there are parallels between Sinaloa-style banda and the Durango sound, the two are not identical. And it is also safe to say that
Torres and
los Rehenes incorporate elements of duranguense the same way they incorporate norteño, ranchera and cumbia mexicana -- in a way that is consistently mindful of Latin pop tastes. No one will accuse
De Vuelta a la Vida and other
Torres CDs of catering to regional Mexican purists; this is a Mexican version of Latin pop, just as
Marc Anthony provides an Afro-Cuban/salsa version of Latin pop. And for those who fancy the crossover grupero style,
De Vuelta a la Vida is an agreeable and pleasant, if less than essential, return to the studio for
Torres and his colleagues. ~ Alex Henderson