On Mayte Martín’s alCANTARaMANUEL, the Barcelona-born singer-composer delves into the poetry of Manuel Alcántara (born 1928, in Málaga, Andalusia). “The idea sprung out of my complete affinity with the lyricism and intimate character of his poems,” she confides, “I chose the ones which touched me the most, allowing each to inhabit the soundscape I felt was natural and appropriate.” Even as Mayte’s sensitive musical accompaniments move Alcántara’s imagery into another dimension, her dulce de leche alto, a sinuous instrument that can scorch as well as caress, wrings hidden meanings and searing emotional insights from the texts. On "A Miguel Hernández" (track 2), the lead voice, shadowed by a mournful guitar and violin, describes the lonely passing of a childhood friend, while "Le gustaban pocas cosas" (track 3) speaks of the little things that make up a life. Argentinean tango stalks through another miniaturist memoir, "Manuel" (track 6), while the poignant "No pensar nunca en la muerte" (track 12) speaks of living in the moment; death will come soon enough, so why dwell upon it? Experienced through Mayte’s impassioned yet sensitive score and vocals, these are songs of love and remembrance, of fatalistic hope and ecstatic agony, totally Spanish in essence but universal in spirit.