A que me mantengo

One of the biggest strengths of both "Para mi gente" and "De buena fe" is the way they're "end-loaded" -- like a great concert, each of these studio discs ends with a succession of great arrangements, building to a satisfying climax. The El puente concert ends with a combination of the last 3 tracks of "Para mi gente" and the last 2 of "De buena fe" -- each with a terrific performance, a dynamic mix, and a variety of new coros.

In contrast to the furious 3:2 minor groove that played such a big role in some of the newer songs that we heard in the first set, these five tracks are all in 2:3, all in major, and all feature warm, gospel and R&B harmonies and rhythms. Manolín, Bu, Valdés & Co. got a huge amount of creative mileage out of this type of groove and no other Timba group came remotely close to imitating it.

A que me mantengo is the same song as Voy a mí, from "Para mi gente", co-arranged by Luis Bu and Jeáns Valdés. The live arrangement is the least changed from the studio version -- it's just faster -- and live! [audio example 25] Very live!