Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Spanish singer Huecco performs his 2011 hit, "La brújula" ("The Compass"), from his album, "Dame vida" ("Give Me Life").
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Watch Spanish pop band La Oreja de Van Gogh's music video for "El primer día del resto de mi vida" (The First Day of the Rest of My Life).
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Merry Christmas from the band La Oreja de Van Gogh as they sing the Spanish version of "Silent Night."
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Listen to the acclaimed Spanish rock band Jarabe de Palo's single, "Hoy No Soy Yo," from their album, Somos. The song is slow paced, and the singer enunciated his words very clearly. Let us know if you like it!
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
See Madrid from a different perspective. Our friend, Andrés, shares with us his favorite spot in the city: the rooftop of El Círculo de Bellas Artes.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Spanish singer/songwriter, Enrique Iglesias, became the biggest seller of Spanish-language albums of the nineties within five years of beginning his career and subsequently made a successful crossover into the mainstream English language market. His hit single, "Alguien soy yo" is from his 2007 Spanish language album entitled Insomniac.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Spanish singer, Bebé, pleads to be loved in her single, "Kiéreme."
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
In their video for the track “Invisible,” the Pinker Tones play with the idea of invisibility. They hide behind newspapers, trees, turtlenecks, boxes, balloons, and sheets right in the middle of downtown Barcelona. Don’t expect a huge vocabulary! It’s just a silly, funny way to express the desire for invisibility.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
What do you do after a breakup? Jarabe de Palo asks this question and wonders... shall we do it all over again?
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
From their 2010 album, Modular, The Pinker Tones bring us this surreal song. So much happens to this duo while stretched out under the sun. Funny thing is: some of the crazy stuff they think of is plucked straight from real life.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
"De todo el mundo" is a wish list put together by our friend Enrique Bunbury. We're sure that somebody as famous as him is always looking for freedom. He doesn't want to be owned by anybody, he just wants to be part of the whole world.
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: 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: 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
There’s more to Miami than postcard-perfect beaches and pink drinks. These days, the city is a great melting pot – especially for Latin American and other Spanish-speaking folks – and there’s a thriving arts scene. As Antonio sees it, the annual art fair called Art Basel is the place to appreciate Miami’s great international flavor.
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: 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: Beginner
Spain
Ángeles Morales de las Heras, a.k.a. Shaila Dúrcal, the child of pop stars Rocio Dúrcal and Antonio Morales Barreto, grew up in Madrid but spent much of her life on the road touring the world with her mom. No stranger to the limelight, she debuted on Spanish television at 12, singing for Nikka Costa, who was then 19. Adult success was not immediate, but came quickly with the release of the highly sentimental, Recordando, her second album.
Difficulty: Beginner
Cuba, Spain
If you have ever seen Almodovar’s Matador you are familiar with the “black widow” phenomenon. Javier García explores the same territory here, tongue firmly in cheek, in his remix video for Me Gustaría, which might make you think twice before chatting up that sexy pole dancer you meet at the airport.
Difficulty: Beginner
Spain
Juan paints outlines on his tiles using a paintbrush and manganese oxide, but at one time practitioners did this by laying down fine strings dipped in wax, and this explains why Juan still calls the technique he uses cuerda seca, or “dry cord.” Note that he describes the technique as one of alto relieve, or “high relief,” which is the opposite of bas-relief (low relief).
Difficulty: Beginner
Cuba, Spain
Ever find it nearly impossible to get home after a rough night out? Javier Garcia gives musical life to just such a scenario in A Casa. Cuídate, it’s a catchy tune!
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