Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Panama, Puerto Rico
Meet Rubén Blades, a Salsa superstar. He helped mix Cuban and Caribbean rhythms with Jazz in New York City. Rubén Blades (or, Rubencito here among friends) composed some salsa classics while also excelling as a singer. But that’s not all. Moviegoers may recognize him as one of the victims in Predator 2. He also has a law degree and ran for president of Panama. When this video with Calle 13 was filmed, he was Panama’s Tourism Minister.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Puerto Rico
Explosive rhythms and politically incorrect lyrics are part of what made Calle 13 an international superstar. This song "Atrévete-te-te" is one of their first hits that made people turn their heads and move their hips all over the dance floor.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Puerto Rico
Nelly Ocacia and Benjamín Moldonado are both 19-year-old university students, and enjoy dancing with the Ballet Folklórico Guamanique when not studying. We caught up with them at the airport in San Juan, where they were welcoming new arrivals and seeing off departing passengers, much to the delight of travelers.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Argentina, Puerto Rico
That mujeriego Mariano has really messed with poor Elena’s head. If we were her, we’d dump the scoundrel for Durand, the suave French lawyer, tout suite.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
"Vivir mi vida" [Living My Life] came out in 2013 as the first single from the album 3.0 by world-renowned salsa artist Marc Anthony, which won the Latin Grammy for Best Salsa Album in 2014.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico, Venezuela
In this episode of Sonido Babel, we'll learn about plena: a musical genre from Puerto Rico that is played with a multitude of different instruments and deals with a plethora of topics from religion, events, recipes, advice, and even superstitions.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsas and boleros, Gilberto Santa Rosa, is also known as "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa). His beautiful voice can be heard here on this ballad, "Que Alguien Me Diga" ("Let Someone Tell Me") from his 2008 album, Solo Bolero (Just Bolero).
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
Listen to Puerto Rican recording artist, Tito "El Bambino's" hit single, "El Amor," from his album, "El PATRÓN."
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
Listen to late Latin salsa singer, Hector Lavoe's signature single, "Mi Gente," from the album La Voz. The hit was recorded in Africa in 1973 with the Fania All Stars.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
Historians continue to discuss the subjective nature of recorded history and the fine line between fiction and fact.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
What is history? What is fiction? Is history fact? Do people believe history or fiction more readily? These are the kinds of questions critics ask as "Seva Vive" continues.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
Héctor Lavoe was a Puerto Rican salsa group and solo singer who lived from September 30, 1946 to June 29, 1993. Among his solo hits were “El Cantante," "Periódico de ayer" and "Bandolera,” which, despite protests from Puerto Rican feminists about its controversial lyrics, enjoyed great success there.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
Historians continue to point out logical gaps which call the tale of Seva's accuracy into question.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
Historians discuss the extent to which popular myths such as Seva affect people's perception of history in Puerto Rico.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Puerto Rico
History tells us that the 1898 U.S. invasion of Puerto Rico occurred in June and from the south. The fictional short story, Seva, tells a different story, one of an invasion from the east that came a month earlier. A type of musical oral history known as a "copla" mirrors the fictional story.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment? You will not be able to recover it.