Today’s Video: Playing Freddie's game

Yesterday would've been the 65th birthday of Freddie Mercury, the former frontman for the rock band Queen. Numerous tributes have been held in his honor this week including an animated video on Google's home page and a limited edition sports car.

In 1997 several Latin American rock musicians interpreted Queen songs to Spanish as part of a tribute album. Soda Stereo, Molotov and Fito Paez where among those who participated in the unique project. Colombia's Aterciopelados contributed "Juegale, Apuestale", their version of "Play the Game", which you can appreciate below during the group's MTV Unplugged performance in 1997:

Online Sources - cduniverse.com, Auto Guide, The Atlantic

Video Source - YouTube

Today’s Video: “It’s a love song…”

This week’s look at upcoming free concerts in New York ends tonight. In the past four days, we’ve highlighted music from Los Amigos Invisibles, Chicha Libre, Curumin, and Alex Cuba. We’re taking a different turn tonight by quickly highlighting two great Latino comics.

Pablo Francisco and Gabriel Iglesias will both be performing in Central Park next Friday evening. Both these comedians have been frequently on Comedy Central and have also had their own specials. Iglesias sometimes uses self-deprecating humor to poke fun at his obesity (e.g. the five levels of fatness) while Francisco is best-known for his impressions and wide-ranging voices.

Here is a brief, somewhat NSFW clip Francisco joking about Mexican (norteño?) music:

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube, Official websites of Pablo Francisco and Gabriel Iglesias

Today’s Video: Viva (Alex) Cuba!

This week’s look at upcoming free concerts in New York continues with a quick word on Alex Cuba.

The Cuban-Canadian artist has received several Juno Awards for his delightful blend of Latin jazz, rock, and funk. He will be performing at Madison Square Park on the 24th of this month though he will also be touring North America this summer.

Al Jazeera English highlighted Cuba last year; take a look as he explains his musical inspiration as a child:

• Wednesday – Curumin, Juana Molina, and El G
• Tuesday - Chicha Libre
• Monday - Los Amigos Invisibles and Aterciopelados
  

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube, alexcuba.com

Today’s Video: A triple threat

We continue with our look at this summer’s free concerts in La Gran Manzana with a can't-miss gig in Central Park.

The tenth Latin Alternative Music Conference in July will bring numerous artists to New York and while some are more recognizable than others rest assured that the quality of the music is always superb.

Take the July 8th Central Park Summerstage concert as an example; Argentine songbird Juana Molina is relatively well-known having been covered by the likes of Spin and Rolling Stone. (Shameless plug: us too!) Curumin and El G are definitely not slouches and their music is excellent in their own forms. All in all, the ambient sounds of Molina, the Brazilian funk/rock of Curumin, and the varied combinations from Buenos Aires’ El G combine to form a buffet for the ears and mind.

All gushing aside, here’s "Vem menina" by Curumin:

• Tuesday - Chicha Libre
• Monday - Los Amigos Invisibles and Aterciopelados
  

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube, Latin Alternative Music Conference, Central Park Summerstage, Spin

Today’s Video: It’s smooth. It’s refreshing. It’s Chicha Libre.

We continue our look this week at this summer’s free concerts in New York City with a great band that hails from Brooklyn: Chicha Libre.

Presumably named after the Peruvian fermented drink, Chicha Libre mixes several different styles from surf music to traditional Andean sounds. The group will be performing on August 22nd at Roosevelt Island (located in the East River between Queens and midtown Manhattan in case you’re a neophyte) so definitely go and check them out.

Here’s the music video for “Indian Summer”, a song that was on their ¡Sonido Amazonico! album released last year:

• Monday - Los Amigos Invisibles and Aterciopelados

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Roosevelt Live, Wikipedia, YouTube

Today’s Video: Los Amigos Invisibles strike back

For the past two years, we’ve dedicated a pair of special entries to the myriad of extraordinary free summer concerts in New York City. Instead of doing a mega-post on the many great gigs over the next three months, we’re going to dedicate this week’s daily video series to pointing out some concerts that will definitely be worth it!

One of the gigs that we’re (or to be more accurate: me) looking forward to is a fantastic rock en Espãnol twin bill on July 10th. Personal favorites Los Amigos Invisibles and Aterciopelados will be up on stage in Prospect Park as part of the “Celebrate Brooklyn” series. The Venezuelan sextet is known for its funky, catchy music while the Colombian duo incorporates all sorts of sounds into their politically-charged tunes.

This Tuesday will see the release of the latest album by Los Amigos... entitled “Comercial”. One of the singles from that album is the very enjoyable and fun “Mentiras”:

Online Sources- YouTube, Celebrate Brooklyn, The Latin Americanist

De Musica Ligera: Tunes of ‘08

2008 is about to come to an end but before that why not enjoy some primo songs from the past year? Juanes, Sergio Mendes, and Julieta Venegas were a few of the great artists who released new and exciting music over the past year. The wide range of tunes released this year by Latin American/Latino musicians can satisfy just about every musical taste as evidenced by some of the exceptional songs below:

• Aterciopelados – 28 (Don’t forget to revisit our interview with Hector Buitrago!)
• Banda de Turistas - Todo mio el otonio (Very poppy, 60s- tinged music from an underrated Argentine band)
• Breeders - Regalame Esta Noche (Kelley Deal may not be fluent in Spanish but her emotion cannot be ignored in this ballad cover)
• Calexico – Absent Afternoon (Calexico’s music has a great Mexican folkloric sound which must be heard)
• Juana Molina - Un Dia (Sweet, slightly eclectic music from an excellent South American chanteuse)
• Nortec Collective - Akai 47 (One of the best representatives of the “latintronica” genre)
• Pistolera – Guerra (Great song with a political message from this New York-based band)
• Plastilina Mosh – Party (Do you remember Summerstage, Maegan?)
• Sonido Del Principe - El Principe (A Dutch DJ puts a modern tinge on tropical cumbia music)
• Yma Sumac - Bo Mambo (This isn’t a single from 2008, but its worth noting that the Peruvian singer died in November)
  

Image- daylife.com (Colombian rockeros Aterciopelados were one of several great musical groups with new albums and music in 2008)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, yousendit.com

Today’s Video: Human rights for all!

Today is International Human Rights Day but also the 60th anniversary of the passing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

All of the treaty’s goals have yet to be reached and countless number of people globally suffer from human rights abuses. Despite the criticism the UDHR is a landmark covenant, a key to international law, and a necessary tool to combat some of the world’s evils.

As part of today’s anniversary, Amnesty International distributed a music video on human rights with the likes of Yerba Buena, Julieta Venegas and Arteciolepados:

(Hat tip: PBS).

Sources- Guardian UK, United Nations, YouTube, Deutsche Welle, PBS

An interview with…Héctor Buitrago

Hailing from Colombia, the Aterciopelados are one of Latin America’s most well-known rock groups. Since the early 90s, the duo of Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago has created a unique blend of rock and social awareness which NPR compared to “The Police and Talking Heads.”

Last month Aterciopelados released their latest album entitled “Rio”, an effort whose titular song (MP3 sample) emphasizes environmental preservation.

Recently we were privileged to interview Buitrago via e-mail where he discussed music, fatherhood, and politics.

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The Latin Americanist: First and foremost congratulations for the recent birth of your second child! How has fatherhood been treating you lately?

Héctor Buitrago: Thank you! It's really something that you can only experiment and interiorize when you experience it. You feel many emotions, some new, a different kind of love – more intense, also happiness. You also have to work on your patience, your imagination…

TLA: What are your feelings about "Río" and how does it compare to the group's previous albums?

HB: For us, 'Rio' means a new beginning. We felt that OYE from 2006 was more of a transitional album because of our extended break to release two solo albums before that. In this new album we combine what we learned from those CDs and the space they created and we head towards new terrains both in sound and concept. We also feel it's more compromising and activating. The album has already inspired political and social action.

TLA: Andrea and you are part of the Referendo por el Agua ("Water Referendum") campaign. Why is the environment so important to you both?

HB: Yes, the support for water is one of these movements. This is such a complicated time for the environment with serious threats such as global warming and the danger of water shortage. So it's time to act with a more focused effort. Each and every one of us should do it. It's not a distant threat from time or space; it's something that's happening right now. We have been supporting this referendum campaign for a year now and it has been very gratifying to see how changes at a political level can be generated from the actions of citizens. The environmental organizations were able to collect more than two million signatures! This has allowed the project to be debated in the Senate and it is awaiting approval. Some of the new articles would say that there will have to be a minimum gratuity for Colombians, that water will be declared a fundamental right not to be privatized and that the government will takes care and conserve its ecosystems.

TLA: The group's music tends to have a political slant. What are your views on Colombia's political situation and the Uribe administration?

HB: It is just a really difficult moment for our country. There are so many issues. Right now, we're experiencing massive indigenous marches throughout Colombia that ask for the treaties to be respected in places where their lands were guaranteed due to the murder of their leaders. At the same time, workers in many sectors are unemployed. The thousands of Colombians that were displaced due to the guerrilla conflict, the army/paramilitary and the networks of corrupt politicians under President Uribe are difficult subjects that need to be resolved too.

TLA: Lastly, a philosophical question: what do you feel is the meaning of life?

HB: Ummm… it can be an experiment for each and every one of us to live a series of experiences that enrich the great mystery that is this existence... that we continue to advance and grow from our mistakes and constantly learn how to be better human beings.

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Many thanks to Hector for taking the time to answer our questions as well as Nacional Records for helping set up the interview!

Image- Nacional Records
Sources- nacionalrecords.com, aterciopelados.com, The Latin Americanist, NPR, YouSendIt

Today’s Video: A hint

We have a special surprise for your, our readers, which we will post this weekend.

Here’s a small hint:

Sources- YouTube

De Musica Ligera: New album from Aterciopelados!

One of our favorite groups- Colombian rockeros Aterciopelados- released their latest album today!

Entitled “Rio” the album emphasizes environmentalism and, more specifically, the need for clean waterways and access to potable water. Lead singer Andrea Echeverri and partner/bassist Hector Buitrago have lent their support to a campaign calling for constitutional amendment preserving water as a fundamental right.

The album’s title track symbolizes Aterciopelados’ social awareness combined with their unique rock sound. “The waters of the river come running, singing / they go through the city dreaming to be clean, to be clear” sings Echeverri in Spanish as the tune is dedicated to the protection of the Bogotá River.

Other songs on the album like "Dia Paranormal" talk about social injustice while "Bandera" focuses on immigration.

With gratitude to Nacional Records, here’s the single “Rio” from Aterciopelados which you can download via the link below. We hope you enjoy it!

Aterciopelados – Rio

Image- Houston Chronicle
Sources- YouSendIt, Aterciopelados English, The Latin Americanist

Today’s Video: 3000 posts!

This morning’s “Daily Headlines” became the 3000^th post ever published on our blog. This is a milestone that we’re very proud to have reached and we couldn’t have done it without your loyal readership and attention to our blog. Thank you all for making our job as contributors worthwhile!

Since we’re in a celebratory mood, here’s the music video for a pretty catchy song- “Complemento” by Arteciopelados:

Sources- YouTube, The Latin Americanist

Today’s video: Cancion Protesta

We end this week’s slate of posts with a song from one of my all-time favorite groups – los Aterciopelados. “Cancion Protesta” (“Protest Song”) comes from their 2006 album Oye and is a tune which asks listeners not to call their song “terrorist” or as having “unpatriotic” undertones. According to Wikipedia the guitars used in the video were made out of machine guns as part of a U.N. program to “take guns off the streets of Colombia.”

(Video link):

Big thanks to Nacional Records for providing today’s and yesterday's music videos.

This week’s videos with the theme of music containing political messages:

• “Sr. Cobranza” by Bersuit Vergarabat
• “De Paisano a Paisano” by Los Tigres del Norte
• “Rainin' In Paradize” by Manu Chao

Sources- arteciopelados.com, Wikipedia, Nacional Records, The Latin Americanist