[9] The majority of the album's songs were written and arranged by bandmember Lazaro Valdes, who was chiefly influenced by Earth, Wind & Fire.

[13] The Sun-Sentinel wrote that "Bamboleo blends funky urban salsa with storytelling and arrangements that feature blaring horns, thunderous percussion and four poetic vocalists... Its music includes more breakdowns than the commercial salsa heard in the United States and Puerto Rico, so much so that the tembleque, or tremor, is ideally suited to freestyle dancing.

"[11] The Santa Cruz Sentinel determined that "each track is uniquely eloquent, carrying the air of improvised artistic freedom and a clear-metered knowledge of the right musical elements.

"[12] The Star Tribune noted that "the percolating piano, call-and-response vocals and sizzling percussion are unmistakably—and irresistibly—Cuban.

"[16] AllMusic wrote that "the group certainly does not want for heat, with salty montunos from pianist/arranger Lazaro Valdes and plenty of time-shifting breaks from a percussion section as good as any operating today.