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.
- Y No Puedo Olvidar
- Historia de un amor
- Nosotros
- Paloma
- La Media Vuelta
- Piensa En Mí
- Macorina
- Grítenme Piedras Del Campo
- Miénteme Mas
- Luz De Luna
- Las Botellas
- Mucho Mas Que Dos
- Yo No Me Cansaré
- Mi Segundo Amor
- Toda Una Vida
Napo 2
You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.
- La Martiniana
- La Paloma
- Madrigal
- Cielito Lindo
- El Andariego
- Solamente Una Vez
- Llorando A Mares
- De Que Manera Te Olvido
- Caballo Viejo
- Por Tí
- No Volveré
- Caminos De Guanajuato
- Quien Será
- Mundo Raro
- Bésame Mucho
Napo 5
You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.
- La Barca de Oro
- Concierto de Aranjuez
- De que manera te olvido
- Contigo a la distancia
- La malagueña
- Hava Nagila
- No Volveré
- Como la Hiedra
- Paloma Querida
- El Poeta
Napo 6
You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.
- Cucurrucucú
- Reloj
- Consentida
- Usted
- Las Flores
- Perfidia
- Vasija de barro
- Mía
- Los laureles
- Cuando vuel va a tu lado
Napo 8
You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.
- Collar de Perlas
- Cara Morena
- Lecho para Dos
- Llorona
- Macorina
- Peregrina
- Benedetti
- Martiniana
- Melodia desencadenada
- La Guitarra
Napo 10
You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.
- Vamos a platicar
- Bésame mucho
- Gracias a la vida
- Concierto de Aranjuez
- La media vuelta
- Habla muy quedo
- Los ejes de mi carreta
- La noche de mi mal
- Tu me acostumbraste
- Te he de querer
Napo 19
You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.
- Morenita mía
- Gema
- Puro Corazón
- El Negrito del Batey
- Total
- En el Mar
- A la Orilla del Mar
- Óyeme mamá
- Mi Último Fracaso
- Me voy pal pueblo
Napo 20
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- Adiós mi chaparrita
- El último trago
- La ruleta
- Gabino Barrera
- Lamento borincano
- Las golondrinas yucatecas
- Mil besos
- Nunca, nunca, nunca
- Distinto amanecer
- Me lleva la tristeza
Napo 22
You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.
- Con la marea
- Aranjuez
- Romanza
- Entre Sueños
- Taranto
- Moliendo Café
- Arrumbada
- Tu compañia
- Asoleada
- Farruquita
- Raga
Napo 25
You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.
- Chica de Ipanema
- Summertime
- Il mondo
- Cuando, cuando
- Guantanamera
- La Llorona
- Seguiré mi viaje
- Corcovado
- Casa Blanca
- Unnamed Track
Napo 27
You may download all of these songs at once as a single archive.