Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Puerto Rico
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!
Difficulty: Beginner
Ecuador, Puerto Rico
People. People. People. We usually love them and that’s why we talk with them. People from Puerto Rico, people from Ecuador. It doesn’t matter if they are bleeding or in love. We just can’t stop talking to people!
Difficulty: Intermediate
Argentina
What do you like more, money or power? It seems like almost everyone on this show is after one or the other and is willing to do almost anything to get it. Madam has a headache… or is it something worse? Is madam hallucinating, drinking—or being set up?
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Argentina
It’s not easy for most kids growing up in the Chaco region: before the morning bell rings, they have already been picking cotton in the fields. Hop on a boat with Eduardo and Luciana and learn about the community service they do for needy rural schools in Argentina.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Argentina
A wounded puma is an angry puma, and with that in mind, Yago and Ramón make a plan. Morena tells her puma attack story. Will Laura be as impressed as she was with Tarzan’s bravery? Yago is thinking about his deceased mother while Lucio is at his sister’s grave… but will mourning make Lucio’s illness worse?
Difficulty: Beginner
Puerto Rico
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.”
Difficulty: Advanced
Mexico
En route, Juan and friends tell about working far from home. Not only are there financial obstacles, there are cultural differences as well that lead to some misunderstandings. Americans don’t quite understand the saying Mi casa es su casa. Pay attention the next time someone from Mexico tells you there’s a party at your house!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Argentina
It’s so hard to just do your job: distractions and complications always get in the way. Marta accuses her mother, Socorro, of doing something disgraceful. Is it with Ramon that she committed this disgrace or with someone else? Or did she do it at all? Upset by this news, Lina blows off some steam. But is this problem worse than Madame Luisa’s drinking? Meanwhile, doing religious work seems to get passions stirring…
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).
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Argentina
Yago goes to his mother’s grave for some peace and comfort. Ramon goes to the bar. But we are left wondering: Is the puma still on the prowl? All is not quiet in the jungle….
Difficulty: Beginner
Mexico
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.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Venezuela
We continue to talk with VW fans in Venezuela. There’s something about that German engineering that gets into Latin blood, it seems. Fans rave that they’re beautiful, unique and reliable, running on pure gasoline.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Argentina
Could Bernardo be any more devious? Does Luisa stand a chance with him plotting against her? And is there love in the air? In typical telenovela style, as soon as these questions are answered, new intriguing questions pop up to take their place. Stay tuned!
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.”
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