Word Descarga Review from Latin Beat Magazine

Los Delicados "Word Descarga" (Calaca Press)
Reviewed by Jesse "Chuy" Varela for Latin Beat Magazine, April 2001

Los Delicados are a spoken-word ensemble based in the San Francisco Bay area that, since their inception in 1996, have shown they are anything but delicate. With a reputation for original word-flows that tell it like it is, the trio of Darren J. de Leon, Norman A. Zelaya and Paul Flores forges a fusion of poetry and prose with musicians Jimmy Angeles Biala (pecussion), Masaru Koga (reeds), Randall Hunt (bass) creating uplifting and insightful dialogues.

On "Word Descarga" they draw from the spirit of the Last Poets, Amiri Baraka, Piri Thomas and Cheech & Chong, as their opening vignette CV Cafe shows. The ten pieces are original works with inspired titles such as Presente! Heroes/Sheroes y Otras Cosas (a tribute to those who have inspired them), '52 Buick, Este Ritmo de Mi Barrio, Turn Pain into Power among others. The musical bed is jazz for streetwise youthful perspectives with phrases that blur like literary graffiti across our ears about pressing issues and concerns. Calaca Press in San Diego is the producer of this disc, which defines a neocultural movement reflective of our times. Los Delicados, along with the Taco Shop Poets, are urban griots paving a way for a spoken-word revolution. An artistic movement that in the Bay Area also includes Grito Serpentino, Aya de Leon and others, Word Descarga is a visionary iceburg slamming onto the shores of a new millenium.