"Volverte a ver" by Juanes

Hello everyone! ¿Cómo les ha ido?

I have been a little busy with things this semester but here it comes... another post. ¡Ya era hora!

Today's song is one close to my heart, because it talks about the  armed conflict in Colombia.

A little bit of history would do us some good to put the video in the right context.

More than 60 years ago and because of the injustice and disparity of the Colombian society, rich people with all the power and many people suffering in poverty, small farmers being exploited by rich land owners, members of the government who belonged to the extreme right threatening and killing some who didn't share their ideas; the "guerrilla" was formed.  

It started as a group of armed peasants who wanted to defend their rights against the powerful. Over the years they realized they were not going to change anything without money. Money to survive, but also to buy equipment, weapons, etc. So they enter the world of crime, kidnapping and blackmailing the rich land owners. That was the way they "paid their bills". 

Other groups were formed to fight against them and to defend the rights of the land owners, stop the kidnapping, blackmailing, etc. The paramilitary groups were then born. And the many Colombians who didn't belong to any of those groups were caught in the middle. Being accused of collaborating or helping with one of the groups they became target for the other one.

After some years drug trafficking became an important part of their financing. Today, both "guerrillas" and "paramilitares" are drug cartels.

I belong to a generation who has not seeing a different Colombia, one in peace. To that same generation belongs Juan Esteban Aristizabal "Juanes". He is from Medellín, the second larges city in the country and one of the most affected by violence especially in the 80's.

His music besides being a mix of the rhythms he likes and he grew up listening (rock, pop, traditional Colombian music, etc), is also a way to express his feelings about the armed conflict. He has a foundation called "Mi sangre" my blood, which supports and helps people who have been victims of antipersonnel mines, left by the guerrillas to harm the army, mostly in small villages of remote regions of the country.

Fundación "Mi sangre" aquí.

Juanes is also a supporter of peace movements among the Latin American countries. He often offers free shows and collaborates with some other artists to promote the idea of brotherhood among all human beings.

This song is an example of his social topic related music. "Volverte a ver" is talking about those people who have been kidnapped and are away from their families, or maybe the members of the army who are on duty far away from home. The only thing that they want is to see their families again. I think this is a concept some of our students can relate to, because of their family members serving in the armed forces.

Lyrics here

Video here

The video has very many interesting images and one of the ones I like the best is when Juanes' face is erased... To me it represents how the people away from their loved ones and in captivity lose their identity and the only thing that keeps them alive is the wish that they could see them again.

The rhythm of the song is basically pop/soft rock with some tropical influence, very characteristic of Juanes' style.

Juanes is now a days one of the most successful Latin American singers in the world. I hope with this song you can find a way to present a sensible and complicated topic to your students, from the point of view of Juanes and many others who cling to the hope for a better future for their country.

You can choose to present the concept of the armed forces members away from home, or the Colombian conflict itself and the kidnapping, according to your student's level. I know you will do a great job.

I also hope this has not being a very boring topic and that you will find some interesting insight and useful information in this post.

Juanes has some other songs that talk about the same topic like *"Fíjate bien", "Podemos hacernos daño",  "Sueños", "Mi sangre", "Minas piedra", "Bandera con manos"*. The best of "canción social" of this generation. I would probably dedicate some other posts to his music and his message.

Here his web site.

Thank you and ¡Hasta la próxima!

*Disclaimer* I know most of the lyrics of this songs are ok, but check them out first. "Bandera con manos" has some double meaning, =)

"El estuche" by Aterciopelados

Buenas tardes, ¿Cómo están?

Today I'm going to share with you a very interesting song.

Aterciopelados is a group that has been one of the most important in the alternative rock movement in Latin America. The band is formed by Andrea Echeverry and Héctor Buitrago. She is a singer/songwriter with a degree in Fine Arts and he is a bassist/producer/composer with a degree in Engineering.

They had been a very successful band since 1992, combining the sounds of rock, funk, and ska with traditional rhythms from the folkloric music of Colombia, like cumbia, vallenato, bambuco, and pasillo, and some other Latin American Rhythms like salsa, bolero, bosanova, etc.  Aterciopelados has been nominated to the Grammy awards for best Latin Alternative Rock Album, a has won two Latin Grammy Awards among many others. They have been considered the first band to make Colombian rock well known internationally.

In 2006 Time magazine named them the 3rd best band in the world. It was the only Latin band included in their top 10. Andrea's voice is considered one of the best in Ibero America.

Andrea and Héctor are activists on behalf or Amnesty International promoting peace and the respect of human rights around the world. Their music is considered "protest music", a genre that has been present in Latin America since the middle of the last century to speak out against injustice and serve as a way of getting people to think about social issues. The music of this band has a high content of social criticism, they express their opinions about imperialism, consumerism, pollution, war, injustice, global warming, and other problems that affect society nowadays, capturing adepts around the world.

The song I am sharing is "El estuche". It was included in the soundtrack of the movie "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights". Many of the students were familiar with it when I played it.

The lyrics of the song have a very positive message that talks about looking at the essence of a person not their outward appearance. "El estuche" refers to only the carrying case that is the physical make-up of a person. The jewel is inside.

The format of the video is based on that of the old black and white movies and it provides an interesting way of presenting the concepts. It has simple images highlighting the main ideas, i.e., avoiding superficiality and looking for each person's intrinsic value.

The students really like the message of this song and are really surprised at the style of music ans its presence in the Hispanic World. They love to give me their feedback about it all. : )

There you go. I hope you find out this information useful and enjoy the song.

Gracias,

Paola

"Torre de Babel" by David Bisbal featuring Wisin & Yandel

¡Hola y feliz semana!

Today is "reggaeton" time. Yes, you read correctly, reggaeton. Surprised? Yes, I was too!

I had a really hard time accepting reggaeton. I already had my preferences like everybody else, and when I started to get familiar with it I thought it was horrible. The rhythm was repetitive and boring, the lyrics vulgar and ordinary, and the singers, to me,  were trying to imitate rap singers, and the result was very bad.

But still, I was struggling with my conscience telling myself I should find something that I could share with the students, because as an "Expression of culture" it was valid.

I struggle and struggle looking for something I could share. It was hard. I'm not going to lie. The main problem was not only the lyrics, but also the videos. In order to be able to show them to the students they had to be appropriate.

Oh well. Then... after hours... it appeared. David Bisbal from Spain featuring Wisin and Yandel from Puerto Rico. They were singing a song with a strong message. It was shocking. But it didn't end there. I liked it! I couldn't believe it.

"Torre de Babel" is a collaboration that has elements from the reggaeton style and the flamenco pop style. It was a nice combination. The video was very interesting. It kept the spirit of "social criticism" of the beginning of rap music, and added the magic of Hispanic History and good vocals. Also it brings so many opportunities to talk about culture.

You can talk about the music, raggeeton being born from the influences of African American music and puerto rican rhythms like "bomba" and "plena". The mix is made by the puerto rican immigrants in New York who adopted the African American music when they came because of their common roots. The African heritage. These same puerto ricans influence their country back and the songs become really popular making the movement of reggaeton explode about 10 years ago. I moved to the United States about that time, so I never experience reggaeton in Colombia. It hit me when I got here. 

The video of the song shows medieval Spain, castles, and difficult times. War, bad people taking advantage of good people, suffering. It mixes words from different languages. You can talk about the seven hundred years of the Moors ruling in Spain, the "Reconquista", and also compare this situation with difficult times people face in different places nowadays.

Video

The message of the song could be summarized in the last spoken part by Wisin.

Lyrics


Besides the reggaeton influences, the lyrics, the history portrayed, you can also see in the video the flamenco style. In the middle of the song David Bisbal dedicates sometime to presenting traditional flamenco singing, and there is also a traditional flamenco guitar solo.

All those different rhythms are mixed with Arabic music as well. The music of the video shows the Hispanic world is very complex and all connected: Puerto Rico and Latin America to the history of Spain, which includes the Arabs, and their long presence and profound influence in the culture of southern Spain.

Lately some of the reggaeton musicians have been making their compositions broader and more diverse, they realized that if they wanted the style to last and be more popular they had to attract more people to it. Now there is reggaeton for many different tastes, including mine.

This song has open my mind to a new style of music and I am working on preparing more reggaeton songs to be shared in forthcoming posts.

I hope you find this music interesting. And I recommend you watch the PBS show "When the Moors ruled in Spain", it is a great documentary that will give you and insight into this very interesting time in the history of Europe.

Thank you!

Paola

"Torero" by Chayanne

¡Buenas tardes a todos!

Today, I have decided to talk about one of the most well-known singers in Latin America and among Latino population in the United States.

His name is Elmer Figueroa Arce... better known as Chayanne. He was born in Puerto Rico and he has had one of the most successful careers in show business for more than 25 years. Chayanne is an award nominated and winner of many recognitions including the Latin Grammy Awards. His music is a mix of romantic pop rhythms, tropical, and dance rhythms.

In recent years along with his music he has been working as a soap opera's actor in Argentina. He is very popular there and has a huge fan base. While in Buenos Aires he decided to film the video of the song "Torero". This is a love song like much of his music and is danceable too.

The video is very useful to show the beautiful Buenos Aires, it starts in the widest avenue in the world, the 9th of July or Independence Avenue. 9 of July of 1816 is the day of the Independence in Argentina. It has 7 lanes South to North and 7 North to South with two streets on each side with additional 4 lanes. It is about 1 km long and it has in the middle the monument to the independence "El Obelisco" main point of reference in Buenos Aires.

You can talk about how big Buenos Aires is  (12 million people) and the fact that the city is the principal port of the country on the Atlantic coast. It was the entrance to all the immigrants who made up 97% of the population in Argentina. In the video you can see images of the down town with its European style of Architecture. Many cities in Latin America have an English, Spanish, and sometimes French style neighborhood.

There is a scene in which a man is seen selling bread in a basket riding a bike. You could talk about the importance of fresh bread and bakeries in the Latin American culture. Why they would never see anything like that in the U.S. People eat fresh bread made daily for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. The bakeries start working very early in the morning around 3:00 am sometimes to have the bread ready to sell for breakfast. If you go to a bakery late in the evening, around 9:00 or so, you will not find much bread, only the pastries would be left. Supermarket bread in plastic bags is sold mostly for sandwiches. This could lead to a future discussion about meals, snacks, coffee, hot chocolate, and many other aspects of the "food culture" of Latin America.

"Torero" serves also as a good introduction to the bullfighting issue. You can explore how deep in the heart of Hispanic culture bullfighting is; and how now there are many movements,  inspired by animal rights and led mainly by young Hispanics, proponents of putting and end to the tradition of so  many years that some people consider an Art form. Bullfighting has been prohibited in Catalunya, for example.

Almost every main city in Latin America, has a bullfighting arena and a bullfighting season "Temporada de toros" that, as part of regional festivities and celebrations. attracts a large segment of the population.

The music and the rhythms Chayanne dances and performs to are also a surprise for most of the students who have preconceived ideas about Hispanic or Latin music in general. Pop and Dance music is actually very popular in Latin America.

Here it's the video and lyrics of the song. And also Chayanne's web site.

I hope you can incorporate this song into your classes and the culture discussion results interesting and beneficial for you and your students.

Thank you! ¡Nos leemos luego!

Paola

"Color Esperanza" by Diego Torres

Hello Everyone!

Today I want to share with you a song from one of my favorite Argentine singers. His name is Diego Torres.

Diego has been singing very successfully for more than 20 years. He is also a songwriter, producer and an actor. His music is always very positive. Some of his colleagues call it the happiness pill everyone needs everyday. Diego is a classic example of a typical Argentine. He is from Italian and Spanish background and he is fluent in several languages including Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.

His music is a combination of Latin American rhythms. He mixes pop with some other rhythms that are popular in several Hispanic countries, reggae, samba, rumba, and sometimes even including rumba flamenca.

"Color Esperanza" or "The color of hope" is a very inspiring and catchy song. It has been his biggest hit and he has had the opportunity of singing it in different languages like Italian, Portuguese and Spanish while traveling around the world to share his music and support causes that help children in need.

Diego was invited to sing this song to Pope John Paul the 2nd in Spain at the World Youth Convention in 2003. Color Esperanza became in Argentine schools a message of hope for the families and the second hymn played in all national historic holidays.

The video I share with my students is the unplugged version of the song. Diego's MTV unplugged was done in Buenos Aires in 2004 and it became a huge success selling the album and DVD and multiple sold out tours from Mexico to Argentina. In the video he does an acoustic performance of the song and also invites a group of children from "La Chilinguita" music group to perform with him. These children play the drums in the Brazilian urban percussion style, very popular in the neighborhoods surrounding Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. He also sings the chorus of the song in Portuguese on the video.

Diego, inviting them to play with him, supports the efforts of "La Chilinga" music school to help children in Buenos Aires develop their talents and appreciate their traditional music. Some of these children can't attend school because they need to work to help support their families, the music school allows them to have a space to enrich their education bringing music to their neighborhoods and communities, making it more accessible.

This song presents a wonderful opportunity to discuss the following:
-The influence of the different Latin American rhythms in countries other than  those in which they originate.
-The strong ties between Argentina and its neighbor Brazil.
-How different Argentina is from other Latin American countries because of the fact that 97% of the population is fully European with only 3% having any native (indigenous) Latin American background. That makes them have the influence of European languages and culture in their own. Someone said once that Argentines are "Europeans born in Latin America who speak Spanish with an Italian accent" =)
-You can also talk about the situation of many children in the Hispanic world who can't attend school and need to work, many times on the streets selling candy or other goods, to help their families make ends meet.

The song with its message gives us the opportunity to encourage our students to be positive and believe in themselves.

Here the video and lyrics.

This is the first song of Diego Torres that I am discussing but it will not be the last. I love his music!!!

You can access his web site here.

Thanks for your time and "Hasta la próxima"

"Waka Waka" by Shakira and "Waving flag" by K'Naan and David Bisbal

Hello everyone!
It has been a very long time since our last music newsletter issue.
This time I want to share with you some music I am preparing for my students right now. We are getting into the sports unit, mainly soccer. I know some of you dread that unit because soccer is of no interest to you what so ever. ; ) I truly understand.

To me is just the opposite... I love it! In our new book especially because it's in the context of Argentina, one of my favorite countries in the Hispanic world. I am a big soccer fan and this unit gives me time to talk about the sport and culture I love, I think that is probably one of the reasons my students seem to be fine with it, they see my enthusiasm and is amusing to them, hahahahaha!

Anyway...

I'm going to be sharing two songs with you... yes... the wait was worth it... ; )

These two songs are part of the music of the most recent World Cup that took place in South Africa last summer and who's champion was SPAIN!!!

- The first song is "Waka - Waka, Esto es África" by Shakira featuring Freshlyground, a band from South Africa. It was selected as the official song for the World Cup. It has two versions, one in Spanish and one in English.

The song has influences of rhythms of the Caribbean and Africa. Shakira wanted to mix the Afro-Latin rhythms like Soca (so from American soul and ca from calypso), present and popular in the Caribbean Islands. Shakira also throws in some aspects of her Arabic/Latin dancing as she does almost always. The song has a verse that comes from a Cameroonian song very popular some years a go called Zangalewa. Soccer players Gerard Piqué, Dani Alves, Idriss Carlos Kameni, Rafael Márquez and Lionel Messi appear in the video, as well as images from the previous World Cups starting with the Italian champions in Germany 2006.

The lyrics have a very positive message and the music is very catchy!

Video: aquí

Lyrics: aquí

-The second song is "Waving Flag" by K'Naan and David Bisbal. It is another song chosen to be part of the 2010 World Cup music.

It is in English and Spanish and it has more of an African/Pop mix. K'Naan is a Somali-Canadian rapper. David Bisbal is a flamenco/pop singer from Spain (He was the one of participants in the reality show "Operación triunfo". A mix between Big Brother and American Idol contests, done in Spain).

The mix of rhythms in this song is very entertaining. The lyrics talk about your patriotism and supporting your team. The video shows the fans from many different teams, their colors, decorations, and the flags. It will give you an idea of how international this competition is and how many cultures and ethnicities share their love for soccer.

Video: aquí

Lyrics: aquí

OK, that is all for today!
I hope you and/or your students enjoy the songs and they will be useful for you to talk about culture and/or grammar in your classrooms!
Thank you
Paola

"Preciosa" by Marc Anthony

Hola, cómo les va?

Esta vez se trata de una canción puertorriqueña muy famosa que se considera el segundo himno de Puerto Rico. Se llama "Preciosa". Fue escrita por Rafael Hernández Marín en 1947.

Es originalmente un bolero, ritmo nacido en Cuba y que ha evolucionado y dado origen a otros muchos ritmos latinos mas.

En el video que les estoy compartiendo está la versión de Marc Anthony en la que empieza como bolero y luego termina como son y Marc hace un pregón propio de los cantantes de salsa. Marc está cantando en el Madison Square Garden de Nueva York en frente de un público en su mayoría de origen puertorriqueño.

Marc es nacido en Puerto Rico y creció en Nueva York como miles de otros "Newyorricans". El es uno de los cantantes mas famosos de salsa en el mundo latino.

Aquí su sitio web:
http://www.marcanthonyonline.com/us/home

La canción es muy hermosa y celebra ser puertorriqueño, habla del campo, de la belleza de la isla, de la herencia tradicional de Puerto Rico.

Se puede usar dentro del marco cultural del país, de los miles de Puertorriqueños que viven en Nueva York, como Marc y su familia, o también para introducir una charla a cerca de la Salsa!

Video

Letra

Espero que los disfruten.

Paola

"Ni Freud ni tu mamá" by Belinda

Musicófilos...

Como les va?

Esta vez les estoy compartiendo una canción de desamor... como para variar. je!

La cantante es Belinda Peregrín Schull. Es una cantante, actriz y compositora nacida en Madrid hace 22 años. De padre español y madre francesa, creció en México donde empezó desde los 6 años a actuar en televisión. Su primer disco lo lanzó en 2003.

Belinda es una figura muy popular en muchos paises hispanos no sólo en Mexico y España. Conocida por las telenovelas en las que ha participado y porque su música vende muchos discos. Ha ganado varios premios de música y actuación. En otras palabras  Belinda es para gran parte del mundo hispano lo que Taylor Swift es para los Estados Unidos.

Su música tiene influencias del pop, del rock y de la música electrónica también. Responde más a la cultura citadina de los jovenes hispanos con elementos de música urbana también.

Se puede compartir con los estudiantes el hecho de que Belinda sea producto de tres culturas, la cultura francesa de su mamá, la española de su papá y la mexicana, país en el que ha crecido desde los 4 años. Ella es bilingue y ha prodocido algunas canciones en Inglés también.  Como actriz articipó en la segunda parte de la película de Disney "Cheetah girls" en el rol de una cantante de pop española.

En la canción que les estoy compartiendo se pueden escuchar algunas frasecitas en inglés.

También se puede hablar de la cultura de las telenovelas, de la diferencia entre una telenovela hispana y una estadounidense. De como los actores se preparan desde pequeños en México para ser lo mas polifacéticos posibles, actuar, bailar, cantar, etc. La industria de la telenovela mexicana y en general hispana es muy interesante para los estudiantes. : )

Aquí esta "Ni Freud, ni tu mamá" de Belinda!

El video

La letra

Que disfruten y tengan feliz mes del amor y la amistad!

=)

"Chiquilla" by Kumbia All Starz

Hola, Buenos días a todos.


Decidí escribirles en español esta vez, espero que no les importe. ; )

Hoy les quiero compartir una canción que hace parte de mi repertorio de música para el comienzo del año. Al empezar el año yo les comparto a mis estudiantes música de cantantes americanos de origen hispano... para empezar con las influencias de la música hispana en los Estados Unidos. Cantantes como Selena, Christina Aguilera y algunos otros.

Éste año me decidí a presentar una canción de un grupo muy famoso dentro de la comunidad hispana en los Estados Unidos como también en algunos países de centro y sur américa. Los Kumbia All Starz, o antes conocidos como los Kumbia Kings. Para los que no los conocen, éste es un grupo formado por el hermano de Selena Quintanilla, AB Quintanilla. 

La música de los Kumbia All Starz, es de corte TEX MEX pero con influencias de la música urbana americana... entiéndase hip-hop y rap. Uds. pueden apreciar las similitudes y aspectos traidos de esa música dentro del estilo de esta banda. También han mezclado otros ritmos caribeños.

A parte de darnos la oportunidad de discutir la influencia antes mencionada, la canción también nos da la oportunidad de hablar de qué es cumbia... de dónde viene y como suena. "Chiquilla" tiene como ritmo base la cumbia norteña mexicana.

La cumbia es un ritmo afro-latino de origen Colombiano, de la costa norte del país. Es tan pegajosa y popular a los oidos de los latinos que ha sido exportada y adaptada a los gustos de diferentes paises, uno de ellos México. La cumbia norteña hace parte del folclor del norte de México y el sur de los Estados Unidos, de ahí su popularidad dentro de la comunidad hispana mayoritariamente de origen mexicano y/o centroamericano.

El video también da la oportunidad de hablar sobre diferentes aspectos de la cultura hispana... la época colonial en México y la diferencia social entre los criollos (blancos hijos de españoles nacidos en latinoamerica) y los mestizos (indios y blancos) o los indios.  Se puede discutir cómo la cultura latina sigue siendo clasista, y sigue importando no sólo el dinero, sino el abolengo y los apellidos a la hora de las relaciones interpersonales.

Yo recomiendo especialmente que discutan todos los aspectos culturales que puedan, relacionados con la canción, porque los estudiantes no sólo lo disfrutan, y les interesa, sino que aprenden cosas que no se aprenden en el libro.

Si quieren discutir más a fondo algunos de los aspectos de la canción que les he mencionado hagánmelo saber.

Aquí les va... Chiquilla. Espero que la disfruten.

Video:
Aqui

Letra:
Aqui

Gracias

Paola

"Bendita la luz" by Maná featuring Juan Luis Guerra

Hola maestros!

Today's song is: "Bendita la luz" written and interpreted by Maná and Juan Luis Guerra.

Maná is a Mexican band that has been very successful in all the Hispanic World. They are great sellers in Spain, and LA. This band started in the eighties and became very famous because of the combination of rock-pop music and traditional Latin rhythms, with romantic and eco-conscious lyrics. They established a foundation (Selva Negra) to help preserve several species of turtles on the Mexican Pacific Coast, an support other ecological projects in Latin America.

See their web site: http://www.mana.com.mx/

They joined forces in this song with the greatest exponent of Merengue music from the Dominican Republic. His name: Juan Luis Guerra. 

Visit his web site: http://www.juanluisguerra.com/ 

Merengue is one of the traditional tropical rhythms result of the "mestizaje" (the blending of races) in the Caribbean Islands. The "bolero" and the waltz the Spaniards brought from Europe met the Tahíno rhythms of the Indians and the African beats of the slaves and Merengue (traditionally "Perico-Ripiao") was born in the Dominican Republic.

Juan Luis Guerra is a master of the poly-rhythm such as combining fast Merengue and Bachata in the same composition, ex. the song "Como abeja al panal". He has been making music since the seventies and he is very well known, admired, and respected among Hispanic people everywhere. He has been very successful with his band "4'40". He has also written music for several other artists.

Maná and Juan Luis Guerra are very famous and have received many awards, including MTV's, Billboard, Lo Nuestro, and many, many more.

The song I am sharing with you today is a love song. The video tell us the story of a young woman who finds out his love interest is blind and even so she is very grateful for their blessings.

The video shows the band and Juan Luis playing music together while visiting different parts of Santo Domingo the capital of the DR. It is a traditional rhythm and it shows different aspects of Latin American culture you can discuss in class like: playing music and dancing on the street, ethnic groups, drinking coffee, dancing in a club to a band playing the rhythms of the area live, and many other traditional activities.

This has become one of my students' favorite songs.

Here's the video: Bendita la luz

And the lyrics: Letra de la canción

 

I hope you all enjoy it and find it useful.

Thank you,

Paola