AFLTA District IV Fall Conference

AFLTA District IV Fall Conference

Bienvenidos

Welcome to my blog about Hispanic music!

I have been teaching Spanish for the last 10 years and have always liked to share the culture of Spain and the Latin American countries as well as I can.

Music is an important way of reaching people and communicating feelings or thoughts. I have found out that sharing music is also an excellent way of sharing culture. So I share music in class.

I make an effort to talk about songs that are part of the popular music of Spain and Latin America, songs from different countries, styles of music, from classic to folkloric music. Anything is possible.

As I always tell my students I have only one requirement for the music I share with them: It has to be a song that I like. Yes, I know. It sounds restrictive and selfish but there is a very wide variety of music that I like, and I keep up with very many different artist's latest news.

I started presenting sessions on "Music as an expression of culture" in AFLTA District IV Conference as well as the State Conference in Arkansas and regional conferences too. While preparing and doing the sessions the idea of the blog came as a good way to keep sharing information with people interested.

So here we go... I hope you enjoy this blog and if you want to leave a comment or ask a question feel free to do so. Thank you for your interest and your input.

If you have comments or questions feel free to comment on the post, or contact me by e-mail here.

Thanks!

¡Gracias!

PS: I always ask for school administration approval of any video, music or lyrics I plan to share with the students and I recommend you do the same.



Monday, October 8, 2012

Raza de mil colores


¡Hola amigos!

I am back... ya era hora ¿no? :D

Today I want to share with you the song I am going to use to close the Hispanic Heritage Month with.

I discover it by chance. I was looking for a song to finish my presentation about Hispanics, Latinos and how diverse we are. I started the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration with it. The song was a perfect fit.

It is "Raza de mil colores" by Ricky Martin. I talks about being proud of being Hispanic, Caribbean, and a mix of cultures and races.

It discusses how a great part of Hispanics are the mix of the three main racial groups in Latin America. White, Black, and Amerindian.

The three major countries of the Caribbean region, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic have similar ethnic influences. They have the presence of the Taíno and Caribe Indians, the two main groups that were living in the Islands before the arrival of the Spaniards. Then at the arrival of the Europeans who brought the Africans, the mix started.

This is the area where Salsa and Merengue were born. The African Latin rhythms that are so popular in all the Latin American region.

The marriage of the cuatro (8 string Puerto Rican guitar), Spanish influenced instrument; the maracas, Taíno Instruments; and the drums like congas and bongós representing the African influence are a great example of the multicultural richness of the area.

Ricky Martin proudly sings about the diversity of his heritage: white, black, and amerindian.

A good lesson to use when debunking the myth that  Hispanic is a racial group and Hispanic people look and are all the same.

The Hispanic Heritage, from the Aztecs of Mexico to the Incas of Perú, from the Italian-Latinos of Argentina to the African descendants in the Dominican Republic, is multireligious, multiracial, and multicultural. Hispanics are proud of their nationality, their language, and their traditions.

Here the video, taken at Ricky Martin's Concert in Mexico in 2003.


And a blog with the lyrics and translation as well as some other materials to go with the song.


 ¡Feliz día de la Raza y final del Mes de la Hispanidad!


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