WHEN Doris Diaz Florez was at music school in her home town of Cartagena, Colombia's best-known tourist city, she would occasionally stray from a strictly classical approach to her music and burst into pop salsa.

For this she was scolded by her teachers who told her she would ruin her voice. But while retaining a love of classical singing - "Carmen" is still her favourite - Doris wanted her voice to bounce along to the rhythms of her native Latin American music.

So, when three years ago she received a telephone call from the band, Latin Soul, in Cartagena who were about to embark on an extended Asian tour offering her the job of lead singer, she gave an emphatic "Si!" At the time of the call, Doris had graduated from music school and was working as a teacher.

"I was very lucky," she said. "I had been singing with the band from time to time after I finished work at school. The offer was a big opportunity for me - I was very young and very new."

For Doris the trip to Asia was the first time she had been out of Colombia. "It was all very exotic to me," she said. "First stop was Thailand, next Malaysia and then, at last, China."

In China, Doris and Latin Soul have performed in hotels and nightclubs in Chengdu, Beijing, Dalian and now the Sofitel in Shanghai.

The city, Doris said, suited the band and their music. She said the band - Manuel Tapias Berrio (saxophone), Orlando Rodriguez Lozano (keyboard) and Felix Tapias Berrio (drums) - appreciated Shanghai's internationalism and the city's acceptance of other musical styles.

This in turn has rubbed off on the band. They are busy incorporating Chinese pop songs and folk melodies into their repertoire although, as Doris said, "it is difficult to get the cha-cha into some Chinese songs and vice versa".

One song that has become a favourite, both with Doris and local audiences, is "The Moon Represents My Heart" as made famous by the late great Taiwanese vocalist Theresa Tung. "That number always gets to me and to any audience," she said.

Doris' personal idol in the world of Latin American music is Celia Cruz. "Her death a short while ago saddened all of Latin America," Doris said."She was the 'Queen of Salsa'. But I also like Gloria Estefan very much - she's got everything.

"It's easy performing for Chinese people because they all seem to like to dance and if our music is anything, it's dance music."

The band was also heartened to see how readily the Chinese have taken to their music. "We were surprised to hear that a Chinese version of 'Besame Mucho' (Kiss Me Lots) has been around for a long time and seems to be well known all over the country," Doris said.

If the band has one regret about their work in Shanghai, it's that they had to miss the Mariah Carey concerts - someone else who's now well known all over China. "We really wanted to get down to see at least one night of Mariah Carey in action," Doris said. "She's the greatest thing in pop music at the moment and has the most amazing voice."

Doris Diaz Florez may not have a voice with a five-octave range but it can be sweet and raunchy, innocent and sexy as she takes her listeners on a nightly musical tour of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Latin Soul

2F, Sofitel Hyland Hotel

505 Nanjing Donglu

Nightly from 8:30pm (except Mondays)

Tel: 6351-5888