"Do you know the famous tune Kiss Arse," the octogenarian record producer asked me.
I didn't. So Gerald Wickremesooriya, founder of Sooriya Records in 1969, began to hum the tune. A few bars later, enlightenment dawned. Quizas, Quizas, Quizas, the tune Nat King Cole had made famous as Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps. That's how I stumbled upon the Latin side of Lankan pop, peering into a world of '60s groups with names like La Bambas, Los Caballeros and Los Flamencos, who belted out South American-inspired melodies jerry-rigged with Sinhalese melodies.