Difficulty: Beginner
Argentina
Fernando Hortal, aka Bahiano, broke away from his band of 17 years, Los Pericos, in 2004 to go it alone. This video shows the rufían delivering milk and a little more. Oyelo, ¡te gustará escucharlo!
Difficulty: Beginner
Colombia
What if you took a bunch of musical aces from Bogotá and asked them to cook up a picante take on the Led Zeppelin classic “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You”? Wonder no longer…
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
Café Tacuba is often compared to British rock luminary Radiohead, and the LA Times has gone so far as to proclaim this fab cuatro "The Mexican Beatles." "Eres", sung by keyboardist Emmanuel de Real, is from the album Cuatro Caminos, which critics have called one of the definitive rock albums of the decade (in any language).
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
Medio signifies “half,” and so of course mediodía comes around at 12 o’clock noon (“half day”). Café Tacuba’s Rubén Albarrán ponders another perfect sunshine midday and wonders why he is has no one with whom to share it. Live concert video! (See Rubén’s guest appearance in Inspector’s video for the tune "Amnesia".)
Difficulty: Beginner
Puerto Rico
How hard is your cáscara? Here Circo’s José Luis “Fofé” Abreu sings about a certain someone with the power to crack his. Note that cáscara is mostly used for eggs and nuts, whereas the shell of a turtle would be caparazón and that of a snail would be concha.
Difficulty: Beginner
Argentina
Me siento parte del rock, aunque el disco sea más pop explains Coti Sorokin (known to his fans simply as “Coti”) in an interview with MTV España. His talent is widely respected, having composed songs for the likes of Alejandro Lerner and Diego Torres, and served as producer for Los Enanitos Verdes.
Difficulty: Beginner
Argentina
This is one of those tunes that might stick in your head, but don’t worry, it’s a good one! From the album that bears the same name as the song, Amores Lejanos, the prolific Enanitos Verdes sing about the trials of distant love. Go ahead and sing along, no one is watching!
Difficulty: Beginner
Argentina
In this fun video that reminds us a bit of Elvis Costello, Enanitos Verdes front man Marciano Cantero contemplates new looks, and a bevy of fine looking ladies give their critique. The band formed in their native Mendoza back in the late 70s, but still cranks out hits to this day.
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
With Amargo Adios, Inspector mixes up border sounds and border iconography in this paean to unrequited love.
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
Hailing from Monterrey, Inspector has got to be one of the most inspired ska bands south of the Rio Grande! This tune features guest artists Rubén Albarrán (a.k.a. “Rita Cantalagua”) of Café Tacuba and Roco of Maldita Vecindad.
Difficulty: Beginner
Cuba, Spain
Ever find it nearly impossible to get home after a rough night out? Javier Garcia gives musical life to just such a scenario in A Casa. Cuídate, it’s a catchy tune!
Difficulty: Beginner
Argentina, Spain
We’ve all heard of the bolero, which has its modern roots in nineteenth century Santiago de Cuba (even though we might not be able to hum one on cue). But what about the cuartetazo? Born in Córdoba, Argentina, and derived from Spanish and Italian dances, the name is derived from the fact that the earliest players were invariably four-piece bands. The rhythm is similar to merengue.
Difficulty: Beginner
Argentina, Spain
¿Quién es Javier García? With his producer (and two-time Academy Award winner) Gustavo Santaolalla, Javier Garcia talks about his roots and influences. Also, we learn about some noted musicians who contributed to the album 13, including the great trumpet player, Arturo Sandoval.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Javier Garcia was born in Madrid to a Cuban father and spent his earliest years in Spain before heading to boarding school in Ireland (from whence his mother comes), finishing high school in Miami after the age of 16. So what kind of Spanish accent does he have? Well, by his own admission, something of a Cuban one when he sings, a kind of a Spanish one when he talks… (we called him and asked!)
Difficulty: Beginner
Cuba, Spain
If Javier doesn’t get you swinging, swaying and stumbling over your two left feet with this tune, you’re at the wrong site! The trumpet is courtesy of the incomparable Arturo Sandoval, who we had the pleasure of seeing at the Blue Note a while back. A drunken and noisy Tom Jones showed up mid-set with full entourage, causing the fiery Sandoval to call for ¡cállate!
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