Babel Music introduces us to the quitiplás, a fascinating musical instrument from Mestizo America that is made of bamboo and comes in different sizes and pitches.

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.

In this episode of Sonido Babel [Babel Sound], we are introduced to Venezuela's national instrument: the cuatro, which can be heard in almost all Venezuelan folk music.

In this second part of our series on the Venezuelan cuatro, musician Leonardo Lozano explains to us how the manner in which this traditional instrument is played varies between geographical regions.

In this third part of the series on the Venezuelan cuatro, Leonardo Lozano shares with us the names and functions of some of the parts that comprise it.

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.

Sofy and Caro meet to spend the afternoon together in a restaurant. Now, they must decide what to order for their appetizer, main course and dessert

When Carolina meets up with her friend, Sofia, following her job interview, she both learns how it went for her friend and asks advice for her own resume.

Take it from the boys in Skampida, the best ways to learn a language are 1) to watch a lot of tv (yabla!) and 2) to find yourself a native girlfriend/boyfriend! Skampida is one of the best bands ever from Bogotá, and we caught up with them while they were spending some time hangeando in The Big Manzana.

Bienvenido al sueño is the first solo effort by the artist formerly known as Rubén Albarrán—of Café Tacuba / Café Tacvba fame. (‘Tacuba’ became ‘Tacvba’ after a lawsuit, according to this Wikipedia entry.) Check out Sizu’s wild video to the album’s title track. Nice hats, no?

Argentine artist, Silvina, explains to us how opening ourselves up to new cultures and expressing ourselves through art can generate profound changes in our physical and spiritual health.

Si*Sé brings together musical languages such as hip-hop, funk, rock, jazz and even classical violin. Singer Carol C, who grew up in a Spanish language household within an English language city, adds bilingual vocals that pull together the group’s electrifying sound.

The most famous Colombian hips belong to Shakira. In this video we see a lot of the sensual dance and catchy music that have made Shakira’s name known throughout the whole world. Beware the full moon when this lovely she-wolf is on the prowl.

Lo hecho está hecho means “What’s done is done,” and what’s done is another international hit from the bilingual diva from Barranquilla. The English language version is called “Did It Again,” and what it did was to give Shakira her 10th consecutive top-40 hit in the UK.

Shakira certainly knows something of the change-up life. A Colombian, she lives in the Bahamas, dates an Argentinian, switched to English, was a brunette, is now a blonde. In this video for “Gitana” (Gypsy), watch her flirt with Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal as she tells us what fans already know.