Based on their lovely catalog of bands, Nacional Records could be considered one of the best U.S. based labels of Latino sounds. At least it's one of our favorites. So it's extra special when the label reached out to us to premiere the new Torreblanca video for "Como un Amigo" off their sophomore album full of pop bombs, El polvo en la luz. With the help of Hector Castillo (Glass Reworked), MASA and Didi Gutman (Brazilian Girls), the album perfected the polyphony of past records and found room for Juan Manuel to expand his impeccable sense for melody and consistency beyond his strength as a chronicler of the exhausting contemporary situation, expanding them into emotional worlds unto themselves.
This is particularly true in "Como un amigo" and its video is no different. The clip showcases a soap opera scenery, using nature as both prop and setting, that adjusts really well with the folklore theme and acoustic sound of the track. Juan Manuel and his band plays in this gorgeous amphitheater while a man is searching for a meaning, a reason of happiness. At the end the clip embraces the idea that man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. Or as Viktor E. Frankl puts it, "Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.”
Pablo Acuña is a founder/editor at Dance To The Radio and a contributor for Club Fonograma.