“In the Fire” – Linda

“In the Fire”
Linda
NWJ Productions (2011)
http://www.lindaagostoonline.com/

Latino singers and musicians have long embraced African American gospel song – from Gene Viale of the Cleveland Singers to current stars Joann Rosario and Puchi Colon.

Count Linda Agosto among them.

The New York native’s 2004 self-titled debut CD featured songs in English and Spanish, including some infused with a sassy salsa beat she calls “Salsa Gospel.” Now living in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, the gospel singer with Puerto Rican roots continues her bi-cultural music ministry with a new single, “In the Fire”

From a forthcoming CD, “In the Fire” is a testimony about how one’s faith and strength are forged in the fire of life’s trials. Linda wraps it in her no-nonsense staccato delivery. The R&B version captures the song’s deep convictions more convincingly than the salsa version, where the celebratory sound that works so well on “Perdoname,” from her debut album, is incongruous with the single’s internal drama.

Linda Agosto writes that she composed “In the Fire” during a particularly difficult period in her life, but the song also “signifies the triumph over slavery and colonialism steeped deeply in Caribbean history.”