A variety of good Spanish music videos are shown on MTV Espanol and though I don't speak Spanish I can tell most of the time what the theme of the songs/videos are by watching.
One of my favorite music videos is "Amortiguador" by Andrea Echeverri, Colombian alternative rock artist. The theme of the song and video appears to center on automobiles, steering wheels, gasoline and auto parts. My curiosity as to the meaning of the song prompted me to look for an English translation of the song title and lyrics. "Shock absorber," pertaining to the automobile, is the English translation of the word "amortiguador." The lyrics in English indicate that the song refers to a relationship: "The mechanical romance between you and I." She sings passionately about a significant other. "You defend me when someone hurts me, my shock absorber."
"Amortiguador" (2005)
The music video "Dejate Caer" by Chilean rock band Los Tres, seems to be along the lines of a spiritual theme to keep hope alive or keep the faith. But after looking at the English translation of the lyrics the theme still is not completely clear. The Spanish lyrics are aesthetically pleasant in sound and the acoustic guitar in lead and rhythm is rich.
"Dejate Caer" (1995)
Shakira's video of the expressive Latin pop ballad "No," shows sadness as tears roll down her face but the video does not clearly show the theme of the song. The English translation of "No" shows that it speaks of ending a love affair gone bad. "No" was a hit all over Latin America, but surprisingly, did not do well in the U.S.
"No" (2005)
Los Amigos Invisibles
On the other hand, another one of my favorite Spanish music videos, "Las Gorditas De Mario" by Los Amigos Invisibles, the Latin pop dance band from Venezuela, needs no English translation. The message is abundantly clear from simply watching the video. In "The Gorditas of Mario," plus-sized women are being made fun of and seen as sexy at the same time, and the lyrics about incessant eating are clowning and teasing. The band's music is described as a blend of funk, disco and salsa with a dash of acid jazz, which is what makes its sound so good. The Spanish lyrics are interestingly singable.
"Las Gorditas De Mario" (2003)
"Las Gorditas De Mario" (laid back version)
4 comments:
Ah. A music channel that actually plays music videos...Isn't that what MTV stands for?
Spanish music is huge. I believe it is the highest rated format in a lot of the markets.
KSJO used to be this legendary rock station only to become a hispanic format in the last few years.
Also, TRL--the only show on MTV that kinda showcases music has been rumored to go off air for the last few months.
In regards to Spanish music, how big is Ricky Martin? Is he considered great or perhaps even a sell-out?
My only suggestion would be to break up the content a little bit in the blog. I don't know about other people, but I'm only really willing to watch one video per post.
Like you, I like to watch spanish stuff and I don't speak the language either! I'm a huge fan of Mexican Wrestling -- Lucha Libre. I read that wrestling got popular among blue collar workers and immigrants back in the day because it was a medium that didn't have to convey expression through speech. It was mostly visual, it seems like music videos are the same way!
Las Gorditas De Mario was awesome! The video was pretty funny too, the way they shot the fat girl's siloutette and all. The music was also pretty fun to listen to. I've been watching some youtube clips of a Mexican duo, who now live in Ireland, named Rodrigo y Gabriela. Check out some of their clips, you might like them.
I really enjoyed a lot of this music. I'm always interested in finding new music from different languages, but usually the only stuff that I find is pop-ish things. I really enjoyed the rock-alternative band you showed.
One of my favorite non-English rock bands is Asian Kung-Fu Generation. I may not understand everything they say, as it's in Japanese, but they're music is still great.
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