Barrio Nuevo

Abstract

If some of the older designers were growing tired of the demands and limitations of the salsa machine, and the traditional 12-inch format hindered creativity, the digital revolution would make available a whole new arsenal of tools and usher in a fresh crop of graphic artists. Inevitably, there was conflict. Ely Besalel: “Toward the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Latin companies I worked for fell apart, people I knew weren’t around anymore, and when things went digital . . . they didn’t give a damn about the quality any more. I was even being told to produce covers that looked like they had been done in a computer, to show they were technology-oriented.” In fact, some of the most interesting work was coming from abroad.