
‘Berardo Hernández — aka Manzanita, little apple — surfaced during the psychedelic Cumbia craze in late-sixties Peru. Starting in 1969, Manzanita y su Conjunto released a steady stream of singles that used Cuban guaracha rhythms as the foundation for dazzling electric guitar lines. Their two LPs for the Virrey label are acknowledged as masterpieces among aficionados of tropical music. Most of the songs here are drawn from those legendary sessions of 1973 and ‘74.’