Items12The creator’s order
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Bésame Mucho - Lucho GaticaConsuelo Velázquez's song is one of the most recorded in Spanish, and Lucho Gatica's version shows what the microphone did for the bolero. The Chilean singer sings close and soft rather than projecting, so the plea of the lyric sounds private rather than declaimed. Compare it with any big-voiced…0 - 2
Sabor a Mí - Los PanchosÁlvaro Carrillo's song in the hands of a guitar trio. Los Panchos replace an orchestra with three close voices and Alfredo Gil's requinto, the small high guitar he developed for the group, whose quick runs fill the space between lines. The effect is gentle and bittersweet rather than dramatic.…0 - 3
Tú Me Acostumbraste - Olga GuillotFrank Domínguez wrote this song within Cuba's filin movement, which brought jazz harmony into the bolero. Olga Guillot, called the Queen of the Bolero, sings it as theatre: sudden pauses, swells and a voice that sounds close to breaking. Where a filin singer might keep it cool and conversational,…0 - 4
Cómo Fue - Benny MoréErnesto Duarte wrote this song of wonder at falling in love, and Benny Moré, singing with his big band, made it his own. His voice is light, high and unforced, and he stretches and delays phrases as if thinking aloud. That conversational timing is what makes the song sound like astonishment rather…0 - 5
Amada Mía - Cheo FelicianoCheo Feliciano was one of salsa's great soneros, but this bolero by José Nogueras, the only one on his 1980 album Sentimiento, Tú, became one of his best-loved recordings and a fixture at Puerto Rican weddings. His warm baritone drops all the dancefloor bravado. Choose it to hear how a singer known…0 - 6
Noche de Ronda - Toña la NegraNoche de Ronda was written by María Teresa Lara, sister of Agustín Lara, and Toña la Negra, the Veracruz singer closely associated with the Lara songbook, gives it a deep, dark-toned dignity. She does not plead; she holds the song steady and lets its night-time melancholy settle. Choose it to hear…0 - 7
Dos Gardenias - Ibrahim FerrerIsolina Carrillo's 1940s bolero was given a second life on the Buena Vista Social Club album of 1997, sung by Ibrahim Ferrer, then in his seventies. The interpretation is all age and memory: a slightly frail, tender voice that makes the gift of two gardenias sound like something remembered rather…0 - 8
Piensa en Mí - Chavela VargasAgustín Lara's song is usually sung as a tender request. Chavela Vargas, with just guitar behind her, sings it slowly in a rough, worn voice that makes the plea sound desperate and the silences heavy. Her style, unpolished and fierce, is the opposite of the crooners on this list. Choose it to hear…0 - 9
Llévatela - MonchoArmando Manzanero's song about giving up a lover to someone else became one of the signature recordings of Moncho, the Barcelona Gitano singer known as El Gitano del Bolero. He brings a raspy edge and dramatic swells from his family's flamenco and rumba background, so the resignation in the lyric…0 - 10
La Barca - Luis MiguelRoberto Cantoral's song from Luis Miguel's 1991 album Romance, produced by Armando Manzanero with arrangements by Bebu Silvetti, which brought old boleros to a young pop audience. The interpretation is all control: lush strings, a polished mix and a singer who hits every long phrase cleanly. Choose…0
