We were treated to the live show of mixed-voice (3 men, 3 women) a cappella Mexican Vocal Jazz sextet Voz en Punto at the 2010 Harmony Sweeps Bay Area Regional, where their funny, sophisticated set drew a strong ovation and a third place finish. The ensemble has been singing together since 1990 when they were founded by director Jose Galvan. While still students, the group won some very important choral competitions, such as the Int. Choral Festival of Tamper (Finland) in 1991, and the Int. Choral Festival of the Netherlands in 1995. Since then the group has gained an international career with live performances in Europe, Egypt, Russia, Romania, Japan and the U.S., sharing the stage with a cappella legends Bobby McFerrin and the King's Singers. In 2010 'canta CRI CRI,' the group's fifth CD, is nominated for a Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award. The beautifully-designed, extensive, full-color liner notes of the album have a lovely photo and great graphics, but they are all in Spanish, as are the 15 song titles. We can pick a few favorites, such as 'Negrito Bailarin,' 'La Merienda,' 'El Telefono,' 'Cucurumbe,' 'Mi Amigo Hans,' 'Di Por Que,' the sassy 'Metete Tete,' 'Mexico Canta Cri Cri' and 'Tema De Cri Cri,' but this is all wonderfully-crafted, upbeat, sometimes silly, entertaining stuff!

Listen to Metete Tete in RealAudio.

Self-described 'Trailblazers' in Mexican music, mixed quintet Voz en Punto, winners of international awards for their versatility and ability to interpret music from the cultures of many countries, had to start somewhere, and 'Mexico A Capella' is it, their first commercial recording. 'Mexico' represents the impassioned fusion of two of the group's great loves: Mexico and choral singing. The CD topped as #1 seller on the Mexican classical charts, and 4 of the CD's singles, 'Tilingolingo,' 'Male Betulia,' 'Jucheti Consuelito' and the Swingles-influenced 'El Rascapatate' won the 2nd Tribune of Mexican Music and were chosen to represent Mexico in the 10th Tribune of Latin-American and Caribbean music. 15 songs, all in Spanish, favorites besides the 4 singles are the manic 'Cucurumbe,' the romantic 'Besame Mucho,' the crazed, Swinglish 'Que Rico Mambo,' the rhythmic gem 'Tete,' and the jazzy 'Que Bonita Es Mi Tierra.' 'Mexico' created an a cappella sensation in Mexico, and it's easy to hear why. Great arrangements, hot, spirited vocals, fine song selection, dynamic live performances-it adds up to the kind of stardom that changes the popular culture of a nation!

Three-Man, two women a cappella ensemble from Mexico, Voz en Punto is a spirited, talented quintet with fine harmonies, arrangements and a nice, clean sound, and the extensive liner notes have all lyrics and lots of info about the group. Unfortunately for this English speaker, all this information, as well as everything on all the websites about the group we found, is in Spanish. But certain things are pretty clear: There are 18 cuts and most of the material is traditional and sacred music, for example Tomas Luis de Victoria's 'Ave Maria,' Hernando Franco's 'Sancta Maria,' 'Dios Itlaconantzine,' 'Jesos de mi goracon,' 'Eso rigor e repente' and 'Mano fasiquivo.' Some of it is funny in a manic sort of way; examples of this are Jose Galvan's 'Navidad mexicana,' 'El nacimiento,' 'Elintercambio' and Son Veracruzano's 'El tilingo navideno.' The bottom line is, Voz makes fine harmonies, looks young and attractive, has a good sense of humor, and judging by the number of websites about them, has a legion of appreciative fans!

In Mexican slang, 'del tingo al tango' means to go 'from pillar to post' without stopping, a phrase that seems to sum up mixed quintet Voz en Punto's career in many ways. From its founding by director Jose Galvan in 1990, the ensemble has focused its artistic energy on the colorful arena of Mexican culture, from Mexican colonial polyphony from the 16th and 17th centuries to songs in native tongues and/or with African influences, up to the folklore and music of living Mexican concert composers. The group has also presented programs of European composers, including motets and madrigals, Latin-American bossa novas and tangos, and negro spirituals. To quote the group's press notes, audiences become 'Ecstatic,' 'On Fire' or 'Delirious.' 'Del Tingo' is a 16-song smorgasbord of the group's repertoire, beginning with the spirited Mexican 'La Negra' and the French 'Margot labourez les vignes,' the Brazilian 'Rosa Amarela' and the German 'Tanzen und Springen;' and country-hopping into England's 'Come Again,' Cuba's 'Mama Ines,' Japan's 'Ue wo muite,' Italy's 'Amor Vittorioso' and the US spiritual 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.' Brazil's 'Samba de uma nota so,' Spain's 'Chacona,' Finland's Satumaa Tango' and Glenn Miller's 'In The Mood ...Voz continually amazes us with their spirited versatility. Listen to this multilingual a cappella gem and become an instant Voz en Punto fan!

The fourth from the award-winning, internationally-acclaimed mixed quintet (3 men, two women) Voz en Punto, and it's as spirited and juicy as we have come to expect from Voz. Beginning with the title tune and 'La Negra,' 'Copitas'' song selection concentrates on the group's forte, crazy, silly, manic, romantic Mexican songs, some accompanied by a string ensemble. Our favorites of course are the a cappella numbers, like 'La Bruja,' 'No Volvere,' and 'El Sinaloense.' Voz en Punto's sound is as crisp and clean as they come, and they get into some marvelously fast Mexican 'scat' singing that boggles the mind. 'Copitas is big, fat, south of the border fun from beginning to end. Enjoy! 

Listen to La Bruja in RealAudio.