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Craft Latino, the Latin repertoire arm of Craft Recordings, is proud to present a remastered reissue of Siembra, the transcendental LP that caused a revolution in Latin music and, for many years, was the best-selling album in salsa history. This monumental new edition of Siembra was remastered from its original analog master tapes by Phil Rodriguez at Elysian Masters, and is now released in hi-res digital formats for the first time! Released in 1978, Siembra was the second full-length collaboration between Panamanian singer/songwriter Rubén Blades—formerly a vocalist with Ray Barretto’s orchestra—and visionary Nuyorican producer Willie Colón, who had already made history with a string of superlative albums featuring mercurial salsa star Héctor Lavoe. Colón’s soulful sonic identity—built on layers of trombone riffs, always eager to incorporate the influence of outside genres—provided the perfect counterpoint to Blades’ songwriting universe. If their previous album together had already merged Afro-Caribbean beats with sociopolitical messages, Siembra was the thinking Latino’s ideological manifesto. Legend has it that Fania executives at the time were hesitant to release a record so unrepentant in its desire to lead salsa into a new level of poetic vision. But the public, weaned on a full decade of wondrous tropical albums, fell head over heels for the duo’s ambitions. Colón’s sophisticated sound, Blades’ memorable lyrics and hummable hooks are now legendary. Siembra signaled the commercial apex of both Fania as a label and the ’70s salsa explosion as cultural phenomenon. It would remain a record-breaking LP until the arrival of Marc Anthony and his salsa-pop soundscapes in the ’90s.