During the 1980s, a group of music dealers and record collectors from Mexico City joined forces to create a series of illegally manufactured vinyl records containing rare and highly-sought hits from Perú, Ecuador, Colombia and beyond. At the time, Mexico City’s dance-party scene was ruled by the sonideros, a highly developed network of mobile soundsystem operators. 

The popularity of the sonideros led to a growing demand for tropical music, as their fan base became increasingly hungry for the “exclusive” hits associated with particular sonidos. Additionally record dealers were getting frustrated with the music industry constantly “feeding” them streams of mediocre records and from this frustration came the idea of compiling and manufacturing LPs on which every song was a hit: “no matter where the needle dropped, it had to be a song capable of igniting the party.” 

These bootleg compilations – known as “pirata” – were pressed during graveyard shift on recycled vinyl in editions of no more than 500; they were cheaply produced and sold just as cheaply to people who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford them. They were played extensively in every corner of Mexico’s heavily-populated barrios where, in addition to educating the ears of the youngsters, they also promoted some of the best tropical music recorded in Latin America. 

This double-LP contains 23 tropical floor-fillers sourced from the finest and strangest pirata LPs produced during the golden age of Mexico City’s mobile soundsystems. It also includes a 12 Page Booklet containing extensive notes and photos. It is dedicated to all the sonideros for their ground-breaking roles as ambassadors of tropical music within Mexican society. 

Tracklist:  
    Afro Oriental - Lucho Burbano
    Cumbia De Los Bee Gees - Cumbia Machuca
    El Tequilazo / Canelazo - Lucho Gavilanes
    Palenque - Carlos Haayen Y Su Piano Candeloso
    La Quinta Sinfonia de Beethoven - Enrique Lynch
    Venus - Los Pakines
    Lamento de Cumbia - La Protesta de Colombia
    Ritmo de Cumbia - Sonora Tropical
    La 3a De Los Toquecitos - Eduardo Zurita
    La Noche - Leon Cardona Y Los Internacionales
    El Compae Nuñes - El Combo Cienaguero
    La Luna y el Pescador - Gabriel Meza Y Su Organo Chévere
    Tanto Tienes, Tanto Vales - Los Destellos
    A Bailar El Son Satanico - Los Diablos Rojos
    Cumbia Tropical - Anibal Angel
    Hagan Ruedas - Camacho Y Cano
    Eso Es Con Velas - Orquesta „Rafalo“
    Cumbia Del Amor - Alex Acosta Y Su Orquesta
    Malinga - Ramon Ropain
    Platico Chino - Afrosound
    La China María - Los Destellos
    Te Gusta Como Azucar - Los Orientales de Paramonga
    Cumbia Candelosa - Francisco Zapata