Like the three selections from Flahooley, "Karibe Taki" is an important example of the musical workings of Yma's mind while improvising because the song was done in one, continuous take.  When Hernán composed the piece, Yma's vocal line was written down.  When it came time to record it in the studio, however, Yma improvised a short opening cadenza (a rarity on her recordings) and during the first section altered rhythms and provided vocal shadings that could never have been notated on manuscript.  The final, obligatory Afro-Cuban section, however, showed the most change.

According to what Hernán originally told me, he had notated in the music what he thought would go nicely in each section.  He remembers, however, that when reaching this point in the recording studio, Yma suddenly took off on tangents that had little to do with what he had written, or even what they had discussed.  Stunned by the brilliance of what she was creating, both he and Moisés decided no other take was necessary.  (It should be noted, however, that according to the Capitol files the take used for the final release was #10.  RevOla marks this track on their CD release, Voice of the Xtabay and Other Exotic Delights as an unreleased recording but comparisons with the released version show them to be exactly the same.)

A study of Yma's improvising during "Karibe Taki" (and the Flahooley songs) give the listener a rare glimpse into the actual workings of her mind during flights of extemporization.  Most impressive is Yma's absolute authority, technical mastery of her voice within a range of three-octaves, and her instinctive varying of rhythmic emphasis while in the midst of dense coloratura work.

Yma's tone is very forward, firm, and has much "buzz" - a power and focus worthy of any operatic lyric soprano.  The underlying "Cha-Cha" beat supports her elegant, classically polished singing and is famed by an inventive, colorful orchestration.  When the theme returns in the minor key, Yma completely changes her vibrato and tonal placement to suggest great sadness.  The coloratura fireworks of the last section blaze with high staccati that sparkle and dazzle as Yma nonchallantly plays with high Ds, Es, rhythm and accentuation, and then descends to contralto depths with quarter tones and nonsense syllables.