Brazilian pop and funk fans are getting a too slaphappy for psychologists, sociologists and opponents of violence against women, according to The Guardian International. "When we make love, what does she ask for? S-s-slap in the face," sings the group Pagod'artin "Tapa na Cara" (Face Slap), the hit of this week's Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. And in the funk hit "Tapinha" (Little Slap) dancers slap their hips to the hook, "Just a little slap doesn't hurt." ...

Carlos Santana's Autlan, Mexico, hometown will honor the multimillion-selling guitarist with a commemorative statue on February 27. The day will begin with the official renaming of Avenue Carlos Santana and continue with the inauguration of a public square in his name. ... Some of Vietnamese pop music's biggest stars — including Phuong Thanh, Lam Truong and husband-and-wife team Thu Phuong and Quang Huy will perform four shows in San Francisco, San Jose and Atlantic City between today (February 26) and March 8. ...

Moreno Veloso, son of Brazilian star Caetano Veloso, will play 18 dates in North America in support of his debut release, Music Typewriter. He will support techno-Latin fusionist Señor Coconut beginning March 15 in Austin, Texas, then open for countrywoman Virginia Rodrigues on her North American trek, which opens March 28 in Toronto and concludes with New York shows on April 13 and 14. Veloso will also play several solo dates. ... Raul Ortega, new lead singer for regional Mexican group Banda Machos, was kidnapped and beat up in Mexico earlier this month, according to his record label. Ortega was warned that he would be killed if he goes on tour with Banda Machos. He is currently in Los Angeles preparing for a U.S. tour with the group. ...

Top Mexican rock bands Maná and Jaguares will

headline a March 3 "Unidos Por la Paz" (United for Peace) concert in

Mexico City to aid the peace process in the state of Chiapas, which has

been wracked by civil unrest. The benefit, to be held at the

90,000-capacity Estadio Azteca, was announced jointly Tuesday by

Mexico's competing television networks, Televisa and TV Azteca, which

hope to add Mexican-born Carlos Santana to the bill. ... The fifth Market for African Performing Arts will take place March 3-10 at the Palais de la Culture in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. South Africa's Mahotella Queens and reggae singer Ismael Isaac are among the 25 scheduled acts. ... Senegalese singer Baaba Maal, know for such albums as 1998's Nomad Soul, will release an acoustic set titled Mi Yeewnii (Missing You) next month. ...

Egyptian shaabi (urban pop) star Hakim will tour North America beginning with a February 23 appearance at a Borders outlet near the University of California-Santa Barbara. His five other public appearances include dates in San Jose, California (February 24), Inglewood, California (March 3), Brooklyn, New York (March 10), Montreal (March 16) and Toronto (March 17). Hakim's most recent album is Yaho, which has sold more than a million copies in the Middle East. … Former Mano Negra leader Manu Chao, whose 1999 solo release Clandestino has now sold more than a million copies worldwide, is set to release Proxima Estacion: Esperanza this spring. He'll also begin a North American tour in July. ... World fusionists Afro Celt Sound System will issue their third disc this summer, featuring guest vocal turns from Peter Gabriel and former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant. ...

The eighth annual Billboard Latin Music Awards will be held April 26 in Miami Beach, Florida. Based on the magazine's Latin albums and singles charts, the competition pits Son By Four and Marc Anthony against one another in seven categories. Special awards will be given to Los Lobos, norteño group Los Tigres del Norte and percussionist Mongo Santamaria. Buena Vista Social Club alumni Omara Portuondo, Ruben Gonzalez and the Afro-Cuban All Stars compete against Gisselle and Grupomania in the tropical album categories. Shakira, Gloria Estefan and Conjunto Primavera were each nominated in three categories. ...

The Premios Lo Nuestro Awards, held February 8 in Miami Florida, proved a love fest for Puerto Rican boy band Son By Four, who walked away with six awards. Fellow islander Chayanne was honored, as were ranchero singer Joan Sebastian and Argentinian star Libertad Lamarque. Winners of in the popular vote, run through the Univision television website, were Azul Azul, Carlos Vives and Banda el Recodo. ...Three France-based bands will hit North America in July for a 12-date "Vive le World" tour. The lineup (subject to change) consists of Cuban rappers Orishas, Esperanto rockers Ekova and cross-cultural fusionists LóJo. The tour begins in Quebec on July 11-12 and wraps up in Los Angeles on July 22. ...

Afrobeat star Femi Kuti is working on his follow-up to last year's Shoki Shoki in Paris. This spring MCA will release a single-disc version of the two-disc album of Shoki remixes released in Europe last year. Kuti will tour the United States this spring with dates in Austin, Texas (April 26-27), Houston (April 28), New Orleans (May 2-3) and Los Angeles (June 17), with more to be added. ...

Guitarist/producer Ry Cooder was able to return to Cuba in January thanks to the assistance of former President Clinton, according to the Baltimore Sun. Cooder produced 1997's Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club in Havana, and was fined $25,000 by the Treasury Department in 2000 for failing to obtain a license for the 1996 trip during which the album was recorded. Hoping to return to the island to record guitarist Manuel Galbãn, his application was initially rejected by the State Department's Cuban Affairs section. Days before leaving office, however, Clinton facilitated permission with the help of Secretary of State Madeline Albright. Cooder, who contributed $10,000 to Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate campaign, plans to return to Cuba in March to record another disc with Buena Vista singer Ibrahim Ferrer. ...

Singer Mohammed Reza Shajarian, tar lutist Hossein Alizadeh, komancheh (spike fiddle) virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor and percussionist Homayoun Shajarian — touring as the Masters of Persian Music — will perform in Portland, Oregon (February 9), Berkeley, California (February 10), New York (February 24), Washington, DC (February 25), Boston (March 4) and various locales in-between. ... The fine Irish quintet Lúnasa will tour the United States through March 3. They'll make stops in New York (February 10), Seattle (February 13), San Diego (February 18), Taos, New Mexico (February 24) and San Francisco (March 3). ...

Ireland's top-ranking female traditional artist, accordionist Sharon Shannon, will release The Diamond Mountain Sessions on March 13. Guests on the record include Steve Earle, Jackson Browne and John Prine; Irish musicians Donal Lunny, John Hoban, Dessie O'Halloran and Mary Staunton; as well as the Hothouse Flowers, Gallician piper Carlos Nuñez and her own Woodchoppers. Shannon will tour the Midwestern and Eastern United States beginning March 3 in Milwaukee and concluding March 24 in Somerville, Massachusetts. ...

Jesse Arreola, 31, drummer for award-winning Tejano band Los Palominos, died in a bizarre band bus accident February 4 in Port Lavaca, Texas. Arreola was thrown from the bus as it ran a stop sign. He landed in a ditch and the bus ran over him. The other band members, brothers James, Johnny and George Arreola suffered minor injuries, along with the unnamed bus driver. Producer Armando Lichtenberger Jr. told the Associated Press that Jesse Arreola had recently beaten leukemia. Last year the Arreolas scooped up the Best Tejano Performance at both the Grammy and Latin Grammy awards for their song "Por Eso Te Amo." ...

— sonicnet.com staff report