Napo!

I first met Napo on a visit to Puerto Vallarta in January of 2010. He was singing at a restaurant called Xitomate. Wandering musicians are a dime a dozen in Puerto Vallarta; my father even saw a man singing karaoke on a city bus waiting for tourists to throw pesos into his hat. Most of these musicians are annoyances. Napo, though, was a treasure.

After one of his songs I tried to give him a few pesos as a well-earned tip. He refused, saying he wasn’t allowed to collect tips from the patrons. After his set ended, though, he came by my table to talk for a bit. He had stories of playing with the Buena Vista Social Club, of performing his music in over seventy different countries, of how he had worn out his passport from having it checked and stamped so many times. I asked if I could buy recordings of his music, and it turned out that he had a few self-made, self-pressed CDs. The CDs were blank recordables labeled with marker, but the music on them was lovely.

He asked me to please share the music with as many people as I could, with whomever I could. He said that he did not like copyright. All art is based on what came before it, so to claim copyright on a work is to commit a crime against art itself. I told him I’d do my best.

Within hours, I’d ripped the CDs and uploaded them to my web server. Eleven of his twenty-seven albums are now available from this site, with Napo’s explicit permission. All rips are 320k AAC. (If your music player cannot handle these files, try iTunes.) I’ve listened to them side-by-side with the original CDs and cannot tell a difference. Some tracks may have some small audio defects; these are present on the original recordings.

Napo 1

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. Y No Puedo Olvidar
  2. Historia de un amor
  3. Nosotros
  4. Paloma
  5. La Media Vuelta
  6. Piensa En Mí
  7. Macorina
  8. Grítenme Piedras Del Campo
  9. Miénteme Mas
  10. Luz De Luna
  11. Las Botellas
  12. Mucho Mas Que Dos
  13. Yo No Me Cansaré
  14. Mi Segundo Amor
  15. Toda Una Vida

Napo 2

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. La Martiniana
  2. La Paloma
  3. Madrigal
  4. Cielito Lindo
  5. El Andariego
  6. Solamente Una Vez
  7. Llorando A Mares
  8. De Que Manera Te Olvido
  9. Caballo Viejo
  10. Por Tí
  11. No Volveré
  12. Caminos De Guanajuato
  13. Quien Será
  14. Mundo Raro
  15. Bésame Mucho

Napo 5

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. La Barca de Oro
  2. Concierto de Aranjuez
  3. De que manera te olvido
  4. Contigo a la distancia
  5. La malagueña
  6. Hava Nagila
  7. No Volveré
  8. Como la Hiedra
  9. Paloma Querida
  10. El Poeta

Napo 6

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. Cucurrucucú
  2. Reloj
  3. Consentida
  4. Usted
  5. Las Flores
  6. Perfidia
  7. Vasija de barro
  8. Mía
  9. Los laureles
  10. Cuando vuel va a tu lado

Napo 8

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. Collar de Perlas
  2. Cara Morena
  3. Lecho para Dos
  4. Llorona
  5. Macorina
  6. Peregrina
  7. Benedetti
  8. Martiniana
  9. Melodia desencadenada
  10. La Guitarra

Napo 10

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. Vamos a platicar
  2. Bésame mucho
  3. Gracias a la vida
  4. Concierto de Aranjuez
  5. La media vuelta
  6. Habla muy quedo
  7. Los ejes de mi carreta
  8. La noche de mi mal
  9. Tu me acostumbraste
  10. Te he de querer

Napo 19

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. Morenita mía
  2. Gema
  3. Puro Corazón
  4. El Negrito del Batey
  5. Total
  6. En el Mar
  7. A la Orilla del Mar
  8. Óyeme mamá
  9. Mi Último Fracaso
  10. Me voy pal pueblo

Napo 20

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. Adiós mi chaparrita
  2. El último trago
  3. La ruleta
  4. Gabino Barrera
  5. Lamento borincano
  6. Las golondrinas yucatecas
  7. Mil besos
  8. Nunca, nunca, nunca
  9. Distinto amanecer
  10. Me lleva la tristeza

Napo 22

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. Con la marea
  2. Aranjuez
  3. Romanza
  4. Entre Sueños
  5. Taranto
  6. Moliendo Café
  7. Arrumbada
  8. Tu compañia
  9. Asoleada
  10. Farruquita
  11. Raga

Napo 25

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. Chica de Ipanema
  2. Summertime
  3. Il mondo
  4. Cuando, cuando
  5. Guantanamera
  6. La Llorona
  7. Seguiré mi viaje
  8. Corcovado
  9. Casa Blanca
  10. Unnamed Track

Napo 27

You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.

  1. Malagueña
  2. Greensleeves
  3. Romance Anonimo
  4. Medieval
  5. One Note Samba
  6. Para Laura
  7. Adrián
  8. Aranjuez
  9. Mexicana
  10. Los Ejes