The Essential Summer Albums – Dejame Entrar by Carlos Vives

Welcome back to Part 3 of our Essential Summer album series. This week’s album comes to us from the beautiful nation of Colombia and one of its most legendary artists. Carlos Vives gives us a fantastic Latin album which pays homage to his Colombian roots. It’s a perfect album to enjoy in the summer heat.

Dejame Entrar – Carlos Vives

Dejame Entrar is the 10th studio album from Carlos Vives. Released in 2001, Dejame Entrar won the Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album. Dejame Entrar was one of the highest charting albums of 2001.

The album continues to refine Vives’s signature style of blending traditional Colombian genres with mainstream Latin sounds. This album capitalizes on the success of Vives’s early work and pushes the envelope. In the broader context of Latin music at the time, artists were pushing to capitalize on the new English/Spanish crossover fad. Vives ignores this and delivers a great Latin album for the Latin market, but with global appeal.

The Essential Tracks

Arguably the best song on the album, the titular track is what immediately brings you in. It’s infectious and addicting. The lyrics tell a romantic story of the desire to be intimately interwoven with the woman you love. Its a timeless song that continues to be one of the greatest of Vives’ illustrious career.

“Carito”, the 2nd track off the album, is the one that made me a Vives fan as a child. I’ll always remember listening to this song in the car as a kid. It was on a CD along with the track above, as well as a bunch of other random Latin songs. This song is about a young Carlos learning to speak English and focus in school when all he cares about is futbol.

A bit of a surprise pick here for the third essential track. This song wasn’t one of the biggest hits but, it’s one of the most enjoyable. There’s a fun, funky vibe to this track. It’s perfectly marries Colombian folk vibes with a infectious rhythm. Great song.

Colombian Summer Vibes

While this album might not be the most popular release in our series, it’s a beautiful musical journey to Colombia. Vives is able to masterfully combine traditional Colombian rhythms with pop sensibilities to give us a great album to dance to in the summer heat.