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Colombian soap star-cum-singer Carlos Vives continues drawing from the colorful palette of vallenato with 2001's sunny, unfailingly upbeat, Grammy-winning Dejame Entrar. True to vallenato's rich folk tradition, accordion figures prominently, but the kaleidoscopic grocery list of instruments in use also includes electric guitar, flute, piano, and quite possibly a kitchen sink. Stylistically, son, merengue, and paseo rhythms are all checked. Vives's pleasant, almost giddy voice--most often concerned with expressions of love--infuses the material with a celebratory feel, and while his tentative foray into English language lyrics on "Carito" makes a strong case for sticking with Spanish, Vives nevertheless acquits himself well, particularly on the vivid, call-to-arms anthem "Papadió." This is electrified Colombian folk at its most electrifying. --Kim Hughes