Today’s Video: Juan Luis Guerra @ "Peace Without Borders"

Dominican singer/songwriter Juan Luis Guerra is the focus of tonight’s video with his performance in last Sunday’s Paz Sin Fronteras ("Peace Without Borders") concert. Guerra was invited not only for his musical chops, but also to thank the Dominican Republic for hosting a summit which calmed diplomatic tensions between Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.

In the clip below, Guerra sings one of his most famous hits – “La Bilirrubina.”

(Video link):

Previous videos this week:

• Miguel Bose - Amante Bandido
• Carlos Vives – La Hamaca Grande
• Alejandro Sanz (featuring Juanes, Ricardo Montaner, Juan Luis Guerra, Miguel Bose, Juan Fernando Velasco, and Carlos Vives) - Corazon Partio

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Wikipedia, YouTube

Today’s Video: The “chancellors of peace”

An estimated 100,000 jubilant people packed the border area between Cucuta, Colombia and San Antonio, Venezuela for the Paz Sin Fronteras ("Peace Without Borders") concert. The event- masterminded by Colombian rockero Juanes- brought him together with six other musical heavyweights from Latin America. The aim of such a unique event was to promote peace after a recent diplomatic crisis as well as to promote a “citizens’ movement.”

This week’s video theme will feature clips of the four hour plus concert held at the Simón Bolívar bridge. Today we’re showing Spain’s Alejandro Sanz singing Corazon Partio along with his fellow “chancellors of peace”: Juanes, Ricardo Montaner, Juan Luis Guerra, Miguel Bose, Juan Fernando Velasco, and Carlos Vives.

(Video link):

Sources- BBC News, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, Al Jazeera, YouTube

Daily Headlines: February 11, 2008

* Congratulations to Calle 13, Pepe Aguilar, Juan Luis Guerra, and Los Tigres Del Norte (image) who were among the winners in last night’s 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

* 2007: Uruguay and Argentina argued over the construction of a paper mill being built along the border.
2008: Those two countries may clash over the construction of a new port.

* Could global warming be to blame for torrential rains and floods in Bolivia?

* Colombia’s FARC guerillas are going to release three more hostages according to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

* Follow-up: The Brazilian government has submitted a new list of “safe” farms in order to convince the European Union to drop their ban on Brazilian beef.

Sources- Associated Press, The Latin Americanist, Mercopress, CNN, Bloomberg, Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Image- New York Times (“Jorge Hernández of the Mexican-American band Los Tigres del Norte in the PBS documentary “Al Otro Lado (To the Other Side).”)

De Musica Ligera: The return

It has been months since the last time we wrote our post exclusively on music. Let’s take a quick a look at some recent music news that has caught our attention:

* Dominican singer/songwriter Juan Luis Guerra was the big winner in last week’s Latin Grammy Awards after winning an award for each of his five nominations. Other award winners included Calle 13 and Pepe Aguilar, along with personal favorites Aterciopelados and Manu Chao.

Fellow contributor Maegan la Mala was at the event last Thursday in Las Vegas and she gave her two cents from the press room in this blog post.

YouTube: Juan Luis Guerra – “La Llave de Mi Corazon”

* Mexican rockeros Café Tacuba are set to begin a U.S. tour starting this Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina. In this brief interview, vocalist Emmanuel Del Real admits that their latest album is “more rock-oriented” than previous efforts and expressed pride at the group’s fans.

YouSendIt: Café Tacuba – Arboles Frutales

* An article from Billboard notes the change in music tastes in Spain as a result of the boom in immigration from Latin America to that country. For instance, music sales for Latin music have soared since Spain's foreign-born population uses cellular phones and roughly four out of five digital sales are done via cell phones.

YouTube: Alejandro Fernandez and Beyonce - “Amor Gitano”

* Another piece from Billboard notes that crossover Spanish-language hits in the U.S. have been far and few between. Moreover, the only songs that do crossover and become hits in the mainstream music scene are those that are “tied to an uptempo, easy-to-dance-to track” according to Leila Cobo.

YouTube: N.O.R.E. featuring Daddy Yankee - “Oye Mi Canto”

* Famed Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil is going to quit from his post as culture minister next year. Local media reports said that his resignation will be due to a polyp on his vocal cords which may sadly put a halt to his illustrious music career.

YouSendIt: Gilberto Gil – "Bat Macumba"

* Lastly, just for the hell of it, an ode to Mexican-American singer Hope Sandoval - Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You”:

Sources- YouSendIt, YouTube, Wikipedia, Associated Press, Wikipedia, Reuters, Scientific American, VivirLatino, Boston Herald

Juan Luis Guerra leads Latin Grammy nominees

Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra led the nominations for this year's Latin Grammy Awards. In a ceremony this morning in Miami, Guerra was chosen five times including for album of the year and record of the year.

Not far behind him were Puerto Rican pop star Ricky Martin and hip-hop/reggaeton duo Calle 13 with four nods each. Other notables that were nominated include Miguel Bose, Zoë, Daddy Yankee, and Kinky.

Last week Guerra was announced as the winner of the Latin Grammy's Person of the Year award based on his music and charitable work.

The Awards ceremony will take place on November 8^th from Las Vegas.

Sources (English)- International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist, grammy.com

Sources (Spanish)- Primera Hora

Image- VivirLatino

Juan Luis Guerra to receive honors from recording industry

Dominican singer/songwriter Juan Luis Guerra will receive Person of the Year honors from the Latin Recording Academy (LRA). The 50-year-old musician will be recognized during the Latin Grammys on November 7^th not only for his music but also for his “professional, financial, and cultural” contributions according to a statement from the LRA.

Guerra is a musical jack of all trades whose style blends different types of genres such as salsa, gospel and meringue. Last year he recorded “Bendita Luz” along with famed Mexican rockeros Maná which we include below (video link):

Sources (English)- Los Angeles Times – The Envelope, YouTube

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Tunes for the weekend

• According to the press in Puerto Rico, Dominican songwriter Juan Luis Guerra would love to record with ex-Beatle Paul McCartney. “My dream is to sing a ‘bachata’ with Paul McCartney (since) The Beatles have always been a great inspiration to me” said Guerra who is promoting his upcoming album “La llave de mi corazón” (“The Key to My Heart). In honor of this romantic album, below is an absolute classic from his days before he set off on a successful solo career.

Juan Luis Guerra y 440 – Burbujas de Amor (File via Cause = Time)

• Bonde do Role is from Curitiba, Brazil and specializes in mixing samples from rock songs along with funky dance music in a genre called “baile funk”. They were present during this year’s edition of the South by Southwest Music Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, and their latest album was produced by Diplo who is better known as the cohort to Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A.

Bonde do Role - Solta O Fango (File via silence is a rhythm)

• Much like Bonde do Role, Instituto Mexicano de Sonido also attended SXSW. Instituto’s sound is in a genre that we briefly covered last year nicknamed “Latintronica” where traditional Latin music is mixed with electronic music. It’s very catchy stuff, especially after listening to Plastilina Mosh.

Instituto Mexicano de Sonido – Mirando a Las Muchachas (File via Audio Deficit Disorder)

• Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra (Antibalas) is a Brooklyn-based band that (as their name implies) specializes in"Afrobeat.” However, Antibalas has been in the news lately not due to its sound but because of member Martin Perna’s accusation of racism against a recent Village Voice cover which can be seen here. Judge for yourself if Perna is overreacting or accurate.

Antibalas – Beaten Metal (File via ickmusic)

• Lastly, I confess to being an avid enthusiast of “shoegazer” music; groups like My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Sereena Maneesh, and Astrobrite play constantly on my iPod. So imagine my great surprise to discover “shoegazers” en español! Peru’s Resplandor was the focus of excellent music blog Mars Needs Guitars; their sound is pretty average for the shoegazer genre, but it’s a kick to hear it in Spanish.

Resplandor – En Tus Alas

Links- Minnesota Public Radio, Wikipedia, XL Recordings, silence is a rhythm, MySpace, The Latin Americanist, Audio Deficit Disorder, antibalas.com, Brooklyn Vegan, ickmusic, Cause = Time, Primera Hora, Voy Music, allmusic, Mars Needs Guitars, resplandor.com.pe

Image- resplandor.com.pe (Resplandor performing in Lima, Peru in 2005)