Just part of the joy of being able to travel to Cuba twice in the last year has been the discovery of artists and records that I’d seen nor heard of. I’d heard very little of Los Barba before this most recent trip, but one look at that fantastic cover to this 45 and I knew it would be coming home with me back to California. Los Barba were a top rock group in Cuba, until an accident in 1975 killed several of their members. The band continued, but not quite the same. “Mi Mercy Cha” is from an early single, likely released around 1967 or 1968, just from the sound…and, boy, what a sound. The song rips out of the speakers right from the start with a big blast of fuzz and then a pulsating beat. I’ve heard a lot of musical surprises in the vinyl I’ve brought back, but few rock as hard as this one. Really looking forward to featuring this on the next volume of Sorpresa Musical.