Difficulty: Intermediate
Venezuela
Jair and Puzzy are two young and talented musicians from Falcón, Venezuela. They had decided to blend their styles and to create a musical duo that already had brought their music to the best radio stations of the country.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
Enjoy Mark Anthony’s cover of legendary Spanish singer and songwriter Jose Luis Perales’s song “¿Y cómo es él?” (“And What’s He Like?”). In this song, Marc Anthony leaves behind his signature Salsa sound and becomes a more inquisitive broken heart.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Spain
The beautiful Leire Martínez had the difficult challenge to fill Amaia Motero's shoes as lead singer of the Spanish pop band “La Oreja de Van Gogh”. In “Inmortal”, she sings about all the little things from the past that we keep and carry with us; but it’s also about all the possibilities that the future brings. Her final words seem to be fitting to her role in “La Oreja”: “I’ll be your destiny.”
Difficulty: Intermediate
Colombia
The pouring rain doesn’t stop Aterciopelados from rocking the park in Bogotá. “Rock al parque” is probably the biggest open-air (free!) rock festival in Latin America, held annually in Colombia’s capital. Listen in as Aterciopelados sings out a tribute to this fun festival and to fellow bands performing there. (How many of them have you heard?)
Difficulty: Intermediate
Spain
“La Quinta Estacion” is Spanish for “The Fifth Season.” Although this band originated from Spain, after a Mexican telenovela (soap opera) adopted one of their songs as its theme, they toured the country and decided to make it their home. “Que te quería” (“That I Loved You”) is the first fiery single from their 2009 album.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Uruguay
Uruguayan musician Gonzalo Yáñez has been making music from a very young age. After working with different groups, he began his solo career in 2004. In this song, the title track of his latest album, he blends acoustic guitar with synthesized sounds, and the catchiness of the chorus contrasts with the darkness of the narrative lyrics.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Spain
Manu Chao is French, but he has Spanish roots. He sings in six or seven different languages, from Spanish to English to Arabic, and his music has even more diverse influences. “Clandestino,” the title track from Manu’s first album, deals with the issue of immigration: “I wrote it about the border between Europe and those coming from poorer nations. Look around – maybe thirty percent of the people in this street are clandestino (illegal).”
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
Camilo Lara is the man behind the Mexican Institute of Sound (when he’s not busy being the president of EMI Music in Mexico). With this project, he intended to create a fusion of traditional elements with electronic music. MIS tunes have been invading TV and advertising lately; see if you recognize the song “Alocatel.”
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
Quiero Club is an indie band from Monterrey, Mexico. The name of the group (in Spanish, “I want club”) points to the types of music they combine: rock, pop, and electronic music. From their second album released in 2008, “Minutos de Aire” is a collaboration with Jorge Gonzalez from the Chilean band Los Prisioneros. You don’t want to miss this trippy adventure of a video!
Difficulty: Intermediate
Chile
Formerly known as “Bitman y Roban,” DJ Bitman is one of the new faces of Chilean music. But DJ Bitman’s music is far from belonging to only one place: you can hear traces of Brazilian samba and even some New York hip hop. There is also some Caribbean salsa and some European dub. It’s not a surprise that people from everywhere enjoy it!
Difficulty: Intermediate
Argentina
Nothing lasts forever. Sadly, sometime in 2001 the fabulous Argentinian band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs announced their final tour. But after a long hiatus, in April of 2008, they announced a comeback! This song comes from the album they released that year. Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, or LFC, is the most famous ska band of Latin America, and an obligatory part of any dance playlist!
Difficulty: Intermediate
Spain
How is the weather on the fifth season? According to this video we should expect some winds with a few sunny flashbacks. And there is also a chance of Marc Anthony, mostly know for being Jennifer Lopez’s significant one.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Venezuela
In the song “Mentiras,” or “Lies,” by the Venezuelan band Los Amigos Invisibles, a girlfriend hears rumors about her boyfriend going out with other women, but he tells her the rumors are pure lies. Who’s the real liar? Watch the video to find out. Shot in a bar in New York City, the camera follows the lead singer of the group around and “mockuments” the evening he sings about.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mexico
In the Mexican film Rudo y Cursi, Gael García Bernal plays one of two brothers who leave the countryside to gain fame as soccer players. The brothers are nicknamed Rudo (Rude or Rough) and Cursi (Corny or Tacky), and from the looks of this video, you can see why. Enjoy this over-the-top version of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me.”
Difficulty: Intermediate
Colombia
Stop thief! A stranger with a foreign accent and talk of riches has come in and taken all the native gold, leaving poverty in his wake. Colombia’s talented ChocQuibTown manage to sing about serious geopolitical exploitation in a way that’s fun to listen to (and danceable, too).
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