Performed by Gustavo Santaolalla

Produced by Gustavo Santaolalla and Aníbal Kerpel

Release Date: September 14th, 2004

               edge music

     Where better for an ethnically stylized score than directly from the source? The Motorcycle Diaries is a travelogue Latin American film about Ché Guevara (who would become the leader of the Cuban Revolution). Given the idyllic countryside of South America, it is no wonder that Gustavo Santaolalla's music embraces this feeling whole-heartedly. His Spanish guitar driven score manages to reflectively mirror the feel of a road trip, while flowing into the emotional payoff needed to keep a score like this from becoming just pastoral dribble. Helping with this is the natural stylistic underpinnings of the guitar work, though Santaolalla does mix in some string performances at different places to give the score a more well-rounded feel. After all, as good as a guitar can sound on its own, there aren't many scores that can exist entirely on that (though there are some). There are also some electronic percussion elements that Santaolalla weaves about as well.

     For those who stay within the realm of typical American productions, the score to The Motocycle Diaries sounds similar to the music found in Robert Rodriguez's films (at least in the quieter cues). There's nothing truly authentic like a Latin America-flavored score by someone who is actually from that environment, and in this regard, the music has a refreshing quality of a composer just working with what he knows to begin with instead of researching and emulating a particular style that he hasn't grown up with. This is not to knock all those other composers throughout time who have managed this feat with some significant results. Still, there's nothing like the real thing, eh?

     Unfortunately, strip away the Latin stylistic trappings and the score is really somewhat bland. There aren't any discernable themes and the most interesting pieces on the album consist of the source music cues (with Que Rico El Mambo being the most fun...and it possesses the same grunting sample from Mambo #5...is this a typical effect for mambos?) With the heavy atmosphere established in the last two-thirds, any kind of thematic working seems to be all but lost. As such, it makes for a pleasant listen, but it quickly becomes apparent that, outside of the style, everything is all too typical.

     While the Latin American composition is quite interesting, eventually, this is an album that will not appeal to anyone except fans of these types of scores and fans of the film itself. Unless you're in the mood for some lovely Latin guitar work (and not much else), then you can safely skip this one.

1 - Apertura (2:48)
2 - Lago Frías (2:19)
3 - Chichina (1:31)
4 - Chipi Chipi

     Performed by María Esther Zamora, 

     "Polito" González, Jorge Lobos, Cuti

     Aste, Roberto Lindl (4:00)
5 - Montaña (0:28)
6 - Sendero (2:38)
7 - Procesión (1:11)
8 - Jardín (3:02)
9 - La Partida (1:29)
10 - La Muerte De La Poderosa (1:57)
11 - Lima (1:21)
12 - La Salida De Lima (1:40)
13 - Zambita (2:31)
14 - Que Rico El Mambo

        Performed by Dámasco Pérez Prado (2:29)
15 - Círculo En El Río (0:25)
16 - Amazonas (1:00)
17 - Cabalgando (2:58)
18 - Leyendo En El Hospital (3:07)
19 - El Cruce (1:46)
20 - Partida Del Leprosario (1:53)
21 - De Usuahia A La Quiaca (2:48)
22 - Revolución Caliente (0:55)
23 - Al Otro Lado Del Río

       Performed by Jorge Drexler (3:14)

Total Running Time: 47:40