OSCAR DUDAMEL AWAKENS EMOTIONAL MEMORY WITH NEW SINGLE “EL BESO,”
With the depth of someone who understands music as a channel for emotional memory, Oscar Dudamel releases “El Beso,” a new single that reveals an intimate and melancholic facet of his artistry. Through flawless execution and powerful lyricism, the legendary Venezuelan trombonist puts his virtuosity at the service of a narrative that journeys back to the heart of his adolescence—to that precise moment where innocence and desire first meet.
Unlike his previous release, the vibrant “La Rumba Me Llama,” this new track moves away from collective celebration to delve into the personal. “El Beso” is a composition full of evocation, drawing on the language of romantic salsa without falling into clichés, appealing to sensory memory to speak of what endures, even as everything else changes.
“That kiss wasn’t even a kiss. It was what today we might call a brush of the lips. But it was enough to stay with me for a lifetime,” Dudamel shares about the song’s origin. Inspired by his youth in Barquisimeto and a fleeting experience during his high school years, “El Beso” also serves as a metaphor for time—a longing to return to a pure, unrepeatable emotion.
Musically, the track is built with orchestral elegance that supports the narrative strength of his voice and trombone. The performance reaches special intensity in the final passages, where improvisation and emotion merge: “Listen closely to the track… at the end he says again, ‘give me a kiss like that,’ because he wishes to relive those moments,” the artist reveals, underscoring the song’s emotional weight.
“El Beso” is part of Sueño Alcanzado, Oscar Dudamel’s upcoming album—a project that transcends genres to become a sonic chronicle of his life. The album will be released on May 30th on all digital platforms. While the album is infused with the rhythmic power of 1970s salsa, this new single highlights the wealth of nuances that define it: a work where passion for music and emotional memory coexist.
From his beginnings with El Sistema to his establishment as a key figure in the contemporary evolution of salsa, Oscar Dudamel has proven that the trombone not only sets the rhythm but can also tell stories. In “El Beso,” that story is one of the first tremors of the soul, an indelible memory, and a life that slips away between notes.
“El Beso” is now available on all digital platforms.
