Latina Singers

[stoutfellow]

Some months back, at the urging of hornedhopper, I picked up a CD by Shakira. It was an English-language CD, and I was not particularly impressed, but I decided to try to find a Spanish-language version. This I did, and I was quite pleased by it. My Spanish (straight A's in high school, but neglected since) has deteriorated to the point that I can't really follow what she's saying (although the liner notes do include the Spanish lyrics, which I can read), but the sheer energy of her performance is a delight.

Anyway. As I was creating my computerized playlists, I ran across a couple of CDs that I'd bought but never gotten around to playing, one by Serena, the other by Ana Gabriel. I figured there was no harm in putting them on, and both wound up on the playlist I'm listening to now. I have to say I like them both. Serena sings ([sigh] sang) slowly enough that I can usually follow her; a lot of her work seems rather melancholy. Ana Gabriel has a throaty, passionate voice; she sings rather faster than Serena, but not as fast as Shakira, and I can follow her some of the time. Even when I can't, I can catch the emotional content fairly well (I think...).

Anyone have any other Spanish-language singers to recommend? (hornedhopper?) I think I'd like to do a little more exploring...

Comments

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

hmm. i do feel compelled to point out that it was the *spanish* version of shakira's music i directed you to, yes? just so i don't come across as more of a dork than i am (g)!

i'll have to review some cds i have at home. the problem for me with recommending is that i may like *one* by a singer and not all or none of the others that person sings. other groups i have liked a song by were los fabulosos cadillacs (matador), an argentinian group; jennifer delgado (que tu tienes); and dlg (magdelena - i think). after i look, i'll add more.

what is funny is that the very latino teflon spouse refuses to listen to any of this music, preferring his classical and classic american rock music, including motown. i can clear the room immediately with one rendition of maaataaadorrr! lol

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

re your spanish, all you to do to revive it is find or *adopt* a mother-in-law who is under the impression that she speaks english, but in fact, does not (g). i owe all of my spanish (except the bad grammar) to the tenacity of mine. (her spanish is very poetic and correct) many times in our marriage, she has spent a few months with us at a time. she never quite got the concept that there were people who actually did *not* speak or understand spanish, so she never gave up on me. spanish is the one language i never studied formally, so i like to say, when complimented on the fact that i can speak it, that, yes, my spanish *is* good, with the exception of the missing grammar and limited vocabulary! (g) oddly enough, it is the one foreign language that i feel totally comfortable using, total present tense and all! german, i'm always double checking case, tense, gender - *before* i open my mouth.

so, dragging self unwillingly back on topic - i checked some of the cds i had at home. *i* liked the following with caveats in ():

elvis crespo (tu sonrisa)
grupo mania (como baila)
melina leon (mujeres liberadas)
celia cruz (bembelequa)
orquesta marecan(enya, actually)a (cali calor)
dlg (dark latin groove) (has some parts with a kind of rap - however, *i* like the songs, and rap is, generally speaking, not even on my radar as anything but noise) (la quiero a morir; magdalena, mi amor - quimbara; juliana)
mdo (used to be the puerto rican boys' band before ricky martin left) (dame un poco mas; baila la rumba; diana; toma mis manos)

completely unrelated to latin music, if you're in the mood to experiment: there's a wonderful group named zap mama. they sing acapella in their cd "adventures in afropea 1." it is a terrific and unusual mixture of zulu, pygmy, rwandan, french, english, and arabic. they have other cds out, but this is the one i know and highly recommend.