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!

Mexican rock singer Alejandra Guzmán is known as the “Queen of Rock” in Latin America. Take a listen to her soulful singing in “Porque no estás aquí” (“Because You’re Not Here”), and you’ll see why. Those lyrics sung in that raspy voice get right into your core.

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!

New York has the Hudson; Paris has the Seine; London has the Thames. Rivers were important in the building of these cities: they were commercial routes and also a source of food. Aterciopelados (in English, literally “The Velvety Ones”) the well-known Colombian band, remind us of the importance of our rivers with the title song of their socially conscious album Río.

Get ready for Residente’s smart mouth and his tongue twister lyrics with a high level of cynicism. This song was co-produced with Gustavo Santaolalla, mastermind of the electronic tango band Bajofondo.

Puerto Rican pop star Chayanne is infatuated… Not so much with a girl as with her succulent lips and mouth. He can’t get her mouth off of his mind!

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.

If someone offered to be your space cowboy, would you be their Venus in the sand? La Gusana Ciega (the blind worm) from Mexico offers another catchy surrealist tune.

Puerto Rican Draco Rosa, or Draco for short, sings about a promised paradise somewhere near the end of the world. You have to get there, his song explains. On the guitar, Draco is backed up by a bevy of stringed instruments that create a haunting effect. Part of the video is shot on Draco’s ranch in Puerto Rico, which makes you wonder… Does the promised land look like a tropical island?

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.”

The first couple of lines of this song are happy enough, and then—pow—she left and the pain won’t disappear. Mexican pop band Reik belts out a plaintive song about heartache. Have tissues handy.

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).

This Puerto Rican band wasn’t on the island from the get-go. Two of La Secta’s members, Mark and Gustavo, met in Orlando during school and then moved to Miami Beach. There, they met up with John and Carlos and started writing songs. The message of their album Fuego, which shines through in “Déjalos que hablen,” is, according to John, “to be positive in the face of a moment of so many changes in the world.”

Have you ever been at the end of a dark alley wondering why, how, when? Well that’s exactly the mood of this Café Tacuba song: a metaphysical alley where we wonder what did we do wrong and ask for a second chance. It seems that this guy needs a metaphysical GPS system.

Calle 13 joins up with Cuba’s Orishas to sing a paean to those pobres who hike pa’l norte (northward) in search of a better life. The first 13 captions are very colloquial and difficult, but after that this video is very clearly annunciated with lots of great vocabulary, so hang in there! This song is thought-provoking and catchy. No one will ever accuse Calle 13 of taking a weak position in rhythm or in politics!