All week long my wife and I have been listening to these classic recordings from the Fania All Stars. Originally released on two separate “Live At the Cheetah” LPs, the music is collected together along with the DVD of the film Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa). I’d seen bits and pieces of the film over the years, but never got a chance to see the whole thing until this set arrived just ahead of our fundraiser. It’s a really fascinating document, less a concert movie than almost stream of consciousness film-making. Though the performances are what draw you in, it’s the scenes on the streets of New York that stick with you, whether it’s the street party featuring Larry Harlow’s Orchestra, Ray Barretto yelling out “Tamarindo” as he gets a tasty treat and even serves some up, A santeria ritual, or just regular folk singing and dancing with mountains of style. Definitely one of the highlights of my current fundraiser package. On this 40th Anniversary edition they include a couple of bonus tracks, including Ray Barretto’s “Cocinando” the mid-tempo latin groover that starts off the film…speaking of which, if you’ve never seen the film, here’s a taste of how everything begins: