THE SUMMER THAT WASN’T
Nuclear Valdez – I Am I (1989)
From the shelves
Nuclear Valdez were formed by singer Froilan Sosa and bassist Juan Diaz, of Dominican and Cuban descent respectively, both part of a generation of Hispanic youths who grew up in Florida and were inevitably exposed to American rock through local radio stations. Their shared background — a Latino cultural heritage colliding with the grit of U.S. rock — became the foundation of the band’s sound.
The line-up soon solidified with the addition of guitarist Jorge Barcala and drummer Robert Slade LeMont, themselves sons of Cuban immigrants. As a quartet, Nuclear Valdez quickly built a reputation as a powerful and engaging live act, earning support from important local manager John Tovar and opening slots across South Florida for several big artists. Eventually, Epic Records decided to take a chance on them.
Released in 1989, their debut album ‘I Am I’ remains something of a minor cult classic: melodic and accessible, driven by catchy choruses and hard-edged moments where Barcala’s guitar steps forward with concise yet effective solos. The first comparison that comes to my mind is Aussies Midnight Oil, not least because of the band’s politically aware lyrics. However, Nuclear Valdez’s music touched a surprisingly wide range of influences: folk rock, hints of new wave, aor, hard rock. At first glance, it’s tempting to describe the album as “summery”, an impression reinforced by the title of the lead single, ‘Summer’. Yet appearances are deceptive. Beneath the bright surface lies a stark lyrical portrait of post-revolutionary Cuban life, and that contrast between uplifting music and words steeped in pain and melancholy is one of the elements that makes Nuclear Valdez so unique. Who would ever guess that the carefree-sounding ‘Run Through The Fields’ isn’t about joyful dashes through open meadows, but possibly about poverty and hardship? Even ‘Hope’, with its irresistibly catchy chorus, gestures toward optimism only briefly, and always filtered through nostalgia.
The album brought the band a fleeting brush with wider recognition. The video for ‘Summer’ received moderate television airplay and led to a handful of high-profile appearances, most notably an episode of MTV Unplugged shared with The Alarm. Still, when all was said and done, the results fell well short of the band’s potential. The blame lies partly with the label: faced with a sound that defied easy categorization, Epic chose to market ‘I Am I’ primarily to its hair metal audience, effectively denying the album the broader exposure that might have turned it into something more than a cult favorite. And fans of Poison or Ratt weren’t quite sure what to make of Nuclear Valdez either.
Despite everything, Sosa has no regrets: “We tried our best, and it is what it is”, he told the Miami News Times. “I think we’re very happy that we were able to tour in Europe and all over the United States, and we had pretty good local success here – videos on MTV and worldwide exposure – so for that, I think we’re very happy“.
After a good second record slipped by almost unnoticed, the band disappeared from the scene for years. They resurfaced at the dawn of the new millennium with a slightly revised lineup and a brand new album, and later, in 2017, with a collection of unreleased material dating back to their original heyday. Still, the real magic lives in these grooves, and it’s never too late to give them a chance. If you need a starting point, ‘Run Through The Fields’ remains my personal favorite, and a perfect entry point if jangly folk rock is your thing.
