Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
What happens when you mix Mexican pyschedelic rock band Zoé with Spanish rock singer/songwriter Enrique Bunbury? The answer is: Nothing. Or, in Spanish, “Nada,” the title of this song. Take a listen and you’ll see that the combination of sensibilities creates a whole lot of something.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Amaia Montero, formerly the singer of La Oreja de Van Gogh, began her solo career in 2007. This song, “Quiero ser,” lasted for thirteen weeks at the number one spot on the Spanish charts in 2009. Listen and you’ll see why: her voice is captivating.
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: Beginner
Spain
Listen to the whispery, seductive sound of the Corpus Christi lead singer’s voice as she sings a beautiful declaration of love and of the angst it can create. The video, directed by Nadia Mata Portillo, captures the mood perfectly.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Ana Fernández-Villaverde, aka La Bien Querida, sings hauntingly about regret in “De Momento Abril.” Sharing the stage with this Spanish songstress are guitars, violins, a piano, a drum set and a cajón—that is, a box-shaped percussion instrument to sit on. The cajón is originally from Peru, but it’s used in modern flamenco and other musical genres.
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
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: Beginner
Spain
Meet Enrique Bunbury, a big name in rock en español. The Spaniard was the lead singer of the classic rock band Héroes del Silencio for 12 years. When the group disbanded in 1996, Bunbury began his solo career. "Frente a frente"—a cover of the song first recorded by Euro-pop star Jeanette in 1981—is the first single from Bunbury’s 2010 album Las Consecuencias.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Spain’s pop sensation is way more than an enigmatic name. Sure, we’re also wondering why you’d name your band after the removed appendage of a long-gone Dutch painter, but what’s made them famous is their music. "El último vals" is a song inspired by Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Waltz.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Spain
Through music even the most painful memories of a cheating ex-girlfriend can be made lovely. In this bittersweet song, Antonio Villalba and Daniel Mateos, also known as En Cuero, sing about a break-up so sad even the flowers will cry when they hear about it.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Spain
Is it by chance that Diego Maradona IS Maradona and you are not? “Life is a raffle, lottery or game of chance,” claims the refrain of this catchy song by Manu Chao. But if you were Maradona, what would you do? Would you live like him? Listen in and ponder the question.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Spain
These three sisters, known on stage as Son del Sol, are representative of what is called Nuevo Flamenco (Contemporary Flamenco), where the classic sounds bump into other genres. The star of this song is a girl called Natividad (literally, Nativity) who goes to Cuba for some of the Caribbean’s charms. Like the music itself, the tale blends the Old World and the New.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Far from Minnesota, this Spanish rock act is begging the girl to slow down. A safe thing to do, especially if the girl in question is a taxi driver.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Amparo Sanchez – a singer and guitar player from Spain – is not afraid to mix genres, geographies and influences. On her band Amparanoia’s website, she explains: “My paranoia is music and the idea was to mix rhythms and styles, taking enjoyment from the rumba to ‘ranchera’, or the bolero and ska…” (Of course, Amparo + paranoia = Amparanoia.) Listen to 2006’s “La vida te da” and hear the Afro-Cuban rumba interpreted by this talented Spaniard.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Spain
Cosas de Críos, or “kids’ stuff”, is a friendly song about those bygone times when our world was nothing but a fantastic playground.
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