Category Archives: música
2012 Billboard Latin Music Awards CD Giveaway
While nothing can compare with actually attending the Billboard Latin Music Awards in Miami, which I was fortunate enough to do last year, this CD es bien buenísimo. All the songs on this CD are by finalists, so you know it’s got to be good. Chécalo!
SHAKIRA – featuring El Cata – Rabiosa
PITBULL – Bon, Bon
MANA – Lluvia Al Corazón
PRINCE ROYCE – Recházame
JENNI RIVERA – featuring Marco Antonio Solis Basta Ya (Pop version)
ROMEO SANTOS – You
RICKY MARTIN – featuring Natalia Jimenez Lo Mejor De Mi Vida Eres Tú
WISIN & YANDEL – Estoy Enamorado
CAMILA – De Mi
ALEJANDRA GUZMAN – Día De Suerte
GERARDO ORTIZ – Amor Confuso
CHINO & NACHO – Tu Angelito
ALEXIS & FIDO – Energía
DON OMAR – Taboo
This year The Billboard Latin Music Awards will be live on Telemundo, Thursday April 26th at 7 pm. Target has remained the exclusive retail sponsor of the Latin Billboard Music Awards show for 8 years, so this CD will be sold exclusively in Target stores and on Target.com, but here’s how you can win one!
-GIVEAWAY CLOSED – CONGRATS TO WINNER: All Things Pit -
GIVEAWAY DETAILS
Prize description: One lucky winner will receive the 2012 Billboard Latin Music Awards Finalists CD
Approximate value: $9.99
How to Enter:
Just leave a comment below telling me which song or performer on the CD is your favorite. (Please read official rules below.)
Official Rules: No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years of age or older to enter. You must be able to provide a U.S. address for prize shipment. Your name and address will only be shared with the company in charge of prize fulfillment. Please no P.O. Boxes. One entry per household. Make sure that you enter a valid E-mail address in the E-mail address field so you can be contacted if you win. Winner will be selected at random. Winner has 48 hours to respond. After 48 hours, a new winner will be selected at random. Giveaway entries are being accepted between April 23rd, 2012 through April 27th, 2012. Entries received after April 27th, 2012 at 11:59 pm, will not be considered. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. If you win, by accepting the prize, you are agreeing that Latinaish.com assumes no liability for damages of any kind. By entering your name below you are agreeing to these Official Rules. Void where prohibited by law.
Disclosure: This is not a paid or sponsored post. I received this CD for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
Dichos de Espinoza Paz
Image source: Lunchbox LP
Aside from being a talented composer and performer of Regional Mexican music, Espinoza Paz, (born Isidro Chávez Espinoza), has a surprising amount of wisdom to offer fans and anyone else willing to listen. Here are some of my favorite quotes, dichos or frases that I’ve taken down from various interviews and from tweets from his Twitter feed.
Espinoza Habla Sobre Raíces Humildes / Espinoza on Humble Beginnings
★ “También los ‘nacos’ tenemos derecho a oportunidades, a triunfar, a lograr nuestros sueños y a ser respetados.” (Después de haber sido llamado “naco” por un reportero.)
Translation: “As ‘nacos’, we too have the right to opportunities, to succeed, to achieve our dreams and to be respected.” (Said after being called “naco” by a reporter.)
(Language note: “Naco” is a slang derogatory term for an uneducated person who comes from the country.)
Espinoza Habla Sobre Humildad / Espinoza on Humility
★ “Yo creo que hay gente que canta mucho mejor que yo.”
Translation: I believe that there are people that sing a lot better than I do.
(After being asked if he believes he sings well or badly.)
Espinoza Habla Sobre Racismo / Espinoza on Racism
★ “Por qué cuando alguien quiere ofender a alguien utiliza [la palabra] ‘indio’? Los indios no son seres humanos? …Yo soy indio para demostrarles a los que no lo son cómo se llega lejos siendo un indio.”
Translation: “Why is it that when someone wants to offend another, he uses [the word] ‘Indian’? Are Indians not human beings? … I’m Indian – to show those of you who are not, that you can go far being an Indian.”
(Language note: The word “Indian” in Spanish is often used to insult someone and call them “stupid.”)
Espinoza Habla Sobre Chisme / Espinoza on Gossip
★ “Yo nunca voy a vivir de hablar mal de los demás. Yo voy a vivir haciendo a los demás felices con mi música.”
Translation: “I’ll never live to speak ill of others. I’m going to live making people happy with my music.”
Espinoza Habla Sobre Criticismo / Espinoza on Criticism
★ “Yo no me siento mal cuándo hablan mal de mí. Por qué? Porque yo sé quién soy.”
Translation: “I don’t feel badly when people speak badly of me. Why? Because I know who I am.”
Espinoza Habla Sobre Fe / Espinoza on Faith
★ “Mientras más me atacan, más Dios me ilumina con cosas buenas… Pues, que me sigan atacando para que me siga iluminando.”
Translation: “The more they [critics] attack me, the more God enlightens me with good things … So, I say go ahead and continue attacking me so I continue to be enlightened.”
Espinoza Habla Sobre Defenderte / Espinoza on Standing Up For Yourself
★ “Cuándo alguien me quiere pisotear, cuando alguien me quiere humillar a mi, yo no lo puedo dejar…No puedo hacer eso. No lo puedo permitir. ¿Por qué?”
Translation: When someone wants to trample me, when someone wants to humiliate me, I can’t leave it be. I can’t do that. I can’t allow it. Why should I?
Espinoza Sobre el Pensamiento Positivo / Espinoza on Positive Thinking
★ “Si pasa por tu mente, pasa por tu vida.”
Translation: If you believe it, you can achieve it.
Note: Images legally used and adapted from photos available through creative commons and Lunchbox LP. Use and adaptation of photos does not signify their endorsement of Latinaish.com.
My First Spanish Freudian Slip
I began learning Spanish over twenty years ago and while I’ve made, (and continue to make), plenty of grammatical mistakes, I have never had a Freudian Slip until yesterday – This makes me wonder if Freudian Slips are actually a sign of better fluency – something that the brain isn’t capable of doing when one doesn’t speak a language well enough?
So this is what happened – Carlos and I are in the car and I pop in a Pitbull CD. We’re listening to the song “Maldito Alcohol” and, as is my habit, I begin to sing along. I’ve heard this song a hundred times and know the lyrics well, but this time I slipped up.
(A little background – I’ve been trying to eat healthier lately and as a result I’m often feeling hungry.)
Now, back to the car and me singing along. I sing:
“Vamos pa’ la, pa’ la, pa’ la pa’ la discoteca…Vamos pa’ la, pa’ la, pa’ la pa’ la discoteca,” so far so good…
…and then, the slip up: “Yo no quiero agua, yo quiero comida.”
Botas Picudas … now 30% picudier!
El Trono wearing white botas picudas on the red carpet at the Latin Billboard Awards
Okay, “picudier” may officially be the ugliest Spanglish word I’ve ever made up, but let’s get on with it.
I’ve blogged about botas picudas many times now – I blogged about my first encounter with the boots and the now well-known Behind the Seams documentary. I blogged about asking a guy at Wal-Mart if I could take a picture of his botas picudas and about seeing them on the red carpet at the Latin Billboard Awards. I even went to the trouble of creating an entire page dedicated to Mexican pointy boots. What more could I possibly show you on the topic?
Well, although I would have predicted that the fad would die down by now, it seems only to have become more popular. Once DJ Erick Rincón, the king of Tribal Guarachero music, (which is what you dance to in botas picudas), got together with Sheeqo Beat and and DJ Otto to form the group 3BallMTY, they released the Inténtalo video featuring El Bebeto and América Sierra, and things seemed to take off.
Botas picudas have even been featured on the popular English-language show, Glee.
Click this screenshot to watch "The Spanish Teacher" episode of Glee on Hulu, featuring Ricky Martin and botas picudas.
Marc Anthony encountered pointy boots while searching for talent for his and J.Lo’s show Q’Viva The Chosen. In Marc’s words “What the f*ck is that?” – (and yet he tries a pair on!)
A photo circulating on Facebook advertises the new Nike picudas… but I don’t think they actually exist.
However, Adidas has come out with boots that you really can purchase… they aren’t pointy but I wonder what sparked the idea to create them – maybe botas picudas?
Click the photo to read more about Adidas cowboy boots.
And of course Tribal has come to Zumba classes.
If you like Tribal (or Trival) music, plenty new danceable songs are popping up.
This one cracks me up. Is he like a Tribal Pitbull? He even throws a “Dale!” into the song… but then they end the song “El Mudo” style. Weird. (Also, yay! for women wearing the botas!)
La Cumbia Tribalera – El Pelon del Mikrophone Feat. Banda la Trakalosa & Violento
Now these guys definitely have a lot of time on their hands. Hilarious lyrics and check out their homemade botas picudas.
La Bota – La Chuzma
So what do you think? Have botas picudas and música tribal reached their limit, or are they here to stay? … It seems possible that twenty years from now we’ll be playing lotería with our nietos and someone will call out, “La Bota!… Una bota igual que la otra” – and we will search our bingo card only to see this:
Lana del Rey – Is she Latina?
Apparently Lana del Rey is the hot thing right now, and her popularity began some time last year – but I had no clue who she was until a couple weeks ago.
I don’t listen to music in English even half as much as I listen to music in Spanish – so that might be why Lana flew under my radar for so long, and she would have continued to remain unknown to me if it weren’t for these terrible headaches I’ve been getting.
These particular headaches aren’t anything to fool around with – I can’t just take Tylenol and carry on as I usually do – and by “carry on as I usually do”, I mean playing Pitbull full blast for at least some portion of my day.
Well, I can’t manage with no music at all and so I decided I needed a temporary replacement for Pitbull, Reggaeton, Norteños, and all the other typically loud-ish music I listen to. One day, with a headache building, I flipped through the satellite radio channels and impatiently stopped on some sort of “coffeehouse” station – I ended up leaving it on the entire week. The music was calm, didn’t distract me from my work and some of the songs they repeated often began to grow on me.
Then one day, this song began to play and I stopped mid-typing, completely absorbed in the hauntingly beautiful music and the singer’s voice.
I rushed to find out the name of the singer and the song, which turned out to be “Video Games” by Lana del Rey. I laughed to myself, seeing the name. Leave it to me to find the only Latina on the coffeehouse station, but when I looked up the artist to find out more about her, I found a number of things I didn’t expect.
First of all, she’s highly controversial for a multitude of reasons. (See here, and here, and over here…Okay, and here too.)
The other thing I found out? While her exact heritage isn’t publicly known, Lana most likely isn’t Latina. Born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, her birth name suggests Anglo ancestry, (though one never knows whose hiding in the family tree.) The Spanish-sounding “Lana del Rey” is just a stage name which some say was concocted from the name of movie star Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey automobile. Lana tells a different story…
“I wanted a name I could shape the music towards [...] I was going to Miami quite a lot at the time, speaking a lot of Spanish with my friends from Cuba – Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside. It sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue.” – Source: Vogue magazine interview
Despite the various controversies over everything from her authenticity to her plump lips, I can’t help but like the girl based on her voice alone. As for Lana/Elizabeth using a Spanish name for her public persona, who am I to judge? If I hadn’t married a Mr. López, maybe I’d have changed my name to Tracy del Rey by now. Is it not one’s prerogative to call themselves whatever they please? What do you think?
Cinco de Yuca
Today is Spanish Friday so this post is in Spanish. If you participated in Spanish Friday on your own blog, leave your link in comments. Scroll down for English translation!
Tener el pelo largo significa que tengo que buscar formas creativas para atarme el pelo, especialmente en invierno cuándo mi pelo está mojado después de bañarme y me da frío sentirlo tocando mi piel. Usualmente hago un moño desordenado pero a veces trato algo diferente, incluyendo trenzas.
La única cosa es que Carlos se pone un poco raro conmigo cuando me ve con dos trenzas. Su rostro se ve como cuando nos conocimos, sus mejillas cambian a color rojo y sus ojos brillan. “Te ves tan bonita”, me dice, tirando las trenzas. Pensé que me veo un poco ridícula con trenzas. Yo ni siquiera salgo a la calle así, pero si Carlos le gusta, me decido a aceptar sus piropos.
El otro día, cuando tenía el pelo en dos trenzas, Carlos actuó de la misma manera, y luego me llamó su “cinco de yuca”.
“¿Cinco de yuca?” dije, “¿Qué es eso?
Carlos me enseño un video, “La Cinco de Yuca” por Los Caballeros del Sabor.
Ahora sé por qué se pone tan tontito sobre las trenzas!
[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]
Having long hair means I have to find creative ways to tie it back, especially in winter when it’s wet from the shower and it makes me cold to feel it touch my skin. I usually do a messy bun but sometimes I try something different, including braids.
The only thing is that Carlos gets a little weird with me when I wear my hair in two braids. His face looks like when we first met, his cheeks turn red and his eyes sparkle. “You look so pretty,” he says, pulling my braids. I always thought I look a bit ridiculous with braids – I don’t even go out in public like that, but if Carlos likes it, I decided, I will accept his flirtations.
The other day, when I had my hair in two braids, Carlos acted the same as he’s been acting, but then he called me his “cinco de yuca.”
“Cinco de yuca?” I said, “What is that?
Carlos showed me a video, “La Cinco de Yuca” by Los Caballeros del Sabor.
Now I know why he gets so silly about the braids!
Cultura Latina in Gringo Music Videos
A screenshot of Sara Bareilles' video "Gonna Get Over You" which was shot in a Latino market.
This seems like a rather random category, and it isn’t one you’ll find on the Billboard Charts – but I can’t help but congratulate these gringos on adding a little sabor to their music videos.
Sara Bareilles – Gonna Get Over You: Not sure why everyone turns into 1950′s greasers in this video, but I love that it was filmed in a Latino market.
(Korean group) Mighty Mouth – LaLaLa: That’s right, even Asia can’t help but throw a fiesta.
Madonna – Take a Bow: Madonna who once played Eva Perón in the movie Evita, (“Don’t Cry for Me Argentina! The truth is I never left you!…”), is perhaps one of the first gringas to appreciate Latin American culture and use some Spanish in her music, (“La Isla Bonita” anyone?) … “Take a Bow” with the classic Spanish bullfighter is my favorite video by her though.
El Dusty AKA DJ DUS – K Le Pasa: I discovered this at Remezcla.com: This one is cheating. El Dusty isn’t a gringo, but the papel picado and the piñata are too much to pass up. I so want to party with these people.
Justin Timberlake – Señorita : I have mixed feelings for JT, kind of like I have for Pitbull. He’s clearly objectifying women… but damn he’s good. In this video he seduces several “señoritas.” While I love the hell out of this song, I actually don’t see a whole lot of Latin culture in the video unless you count the chicas not wearing pants, (one of them is wearing a serape!)… All my Latina friends totally dress like that by the way …{wink}
Can you think of any others? Add them in comments!
I’ve got some ‘splaning to do
I’m not usually chismosa but I admit it, yesterday I Googled “hijo de Espinoza Paz” … I was CURIOUS, okay? Just curious.
I respect Espinoza’s privacy and blah-blah-blah, but I just wanted to see the cute bebito. So here I am, innocently acting like a tabloid-crazed fan when I should be writing or folding laundry, and here are the Google Images search results I see for “hijo de Espinoza Paz” …
Santa. Mierda. That’s my younger son! The photo is from this post, which doesn’t even mention Espinoza Paz.
Anyway, I just wanted to head off any rumors.
#1. That cute polar bear/child is mine and Carlos’s.
#2. I’ve never even met Espinoza Paz, let alone…
#3. Even if I met Espinoza Paz I doubt he’s into chubby gringas.
#4. IF Espinoza Paz happened to have the same taste as Carlos and he let it be known to me I would say the following:
“I’m sorry, Espinoza, but it isn’t meant to be. I’m happily married. I’m sorry to break your heart, but maybe you can at least get a few good songs out of it? … Can we still be friends?… Actually, I can’t be friends either. You wrote that song ‘Amigos con Derecho’ so it won’t look right, plus my husband, (WHO I’M MADLY IN LOVE WITH), can be a little celoso. I should go… Espinoza, please. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” {Pulls his hands off my ankle and walks away.}
Now all that’s left to do is hope Carlos doesn’t read this or I’ll end up on an episode of Maury. At least DNA test results would prove I’m telling the truth. Then I could get all up in his face, “I told you! I TOLD YOU!” … Then Maury would have our Polar Bear/Child brought out where we’d hug him together, Carlos would apologize for having ever doubted my fidelity and we’d live happily ever after.
Pero, sheesh, who would have ever thought Google Images could cause such drama?
JLo backs it up like a Tonka Truck for Pitbull
Last night my 13 year old interrupted my very impassioned rendition of Yertle the Turtle, which I was reading to his little brother before bedtime.
“Mommy! Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull just performed on the American Music Awards and it was nasty!”
“What do you mean nasty?”
“Jennifer Lopez was barely wearing anything, first of all.”
“Okay, not shocking.”
“No, but she like put her butt near Pitbull’s… you-know, and Pitbull looked like, all happy, of course.”
(The 10 year old giggles.)
I answered my 13 year old with something like, “Yeah? Well, you know how Pitbull is, honey,” and I went back to the story. I mean, it’s JLo and Pitbull. It’s the American Music Awards… what did he expect? We have these conversations often enough. I’ve told him, sex sells. I’ve told him that at some point very soon (if not already), he will find performances and images like these to be spectacular rather than “nasty.” I’ve told him that no matter how strong certain urges may be and despite what the culture says is appropriate – he should always treat women with respect.
Then this morning I came across a photo from the performance which he had described to me and it made me think.
(I can’t use the photo here since it’s owned by Getty Images. Click the link above to see the original. Here are some screenshots I took from video.)
J.Lo and Pitbull perform at the American Music Awards.Image is a screenshot taken from video.
J.Lo and Pitbull perform at the American Music Awards.Image is a screenshot taken from video
What can be said about these photos? I’ll admit that my first reaction was to laugh – (partly because it appears that Pitbull’s pants aren’t flat in the front and partly because I imagine Marc Anthony watching this from the sidelines.)
Look, total honesty here – I love both JLo and Pitbull. I listen to their music and think they are both talented individuals and exceptional entertainers. Pitbull is one of the very few artists that I’m willing to actually buy the album from, because I love every song and know I can dance through the entire CD from beginning to end. As a woman, I get kind of disgusted with the constant objectification of women in his music – but as a music lover, I can’t get enough. It’s a moral contradiction that I’m totally aware of.
After that initial amused reaction though, the photo also made me kind of sad. Here is JLo, one of the most successful Latinas in the world, bending over for Pitbull like an endless number of women have happily done for him before being tossed aside like used Kleenex.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a meaningless performance meant to entertain and nothing should be read into it. I know it was just a choreographed dance, a music awards moment that lasted for no more than 10 seconds and will ultimately be forgotten – but it just seems symbolic of how women, (Latina and otherwise), are viewed and consequently treated.
The cultural message: No matter how smart, how successful, how kind or talented you are, in the end, chicas, this is what you’re good for.
A peso for your thoughts, gente.
Related Link:
T-Pain Microphone – Giveaway!
Okay, if you don’t listen to hip-hop/rap/popular music, you might not know who T-Pain is – so let me introduce you.
This is a photo I took of T-Pain and Pitbull on the red carpet at the 2011 Latin Billboard Awards in Miami
T-Pain is an American hip-hop artist who developed a unique sound and style by consistently using and thus popularizing “auto tuning.” Auto-tuning is basically an audio process which corrects pitch. Auto-tune has taken a lot of criticism from musicians and music fans alike because when abused, it can make even a talentless average-sounding pop singer sound good. While that’s totally true, I think it has its place in the industry.
Here’s T-Pain singing with our favorite naughty Cubano, Pitbull, so you can hear the “T-Pain effect”:
As T-Pain grew in popularity so did auto-tuning. In response to that interest, T-Pain first created an i-phone app that let’s you play with the effect. If you don’t have an i-phone – no worries. Now T-Pain has also created an auto-tune microphone.
K-Mart is selling the microphone and featuring it as one of their “Fab 15 toys” for the holidays with Modern Family actor, Rico Rodriguez.
My boys and I got to play with this toy the past few days, (much to Carlos’s annoyance.) I’m actually impressed with the features. You can record with it, (3 minutes of recording time), and then upload it to the internet via a USB hidden in the bottom of the microphone. The microphone also has a headphone jack, MP3 input and 3 original beats to play around with. Chécalo:
Think it looks fun? You’re in luck – I am giving away one I Am T-Pain™ Mic! Check out the giveaway below!
GIVEAWAY DETAILS
———————————————————————————————————————————–
THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. CONGRATS TO OUR WINNER: Denisse!
————————————————————————————————————————————
Prize description: “Experience the pop culture phenomenon of the T-Pain Effect™ with the I Am T-Pain™ Mic. Transform your voice into T-Pain’s style of singing with a press of a button. Sing to your favorite tracks, freestyle over exclusive beats, and upload beats from your computer to the mic. Record, save and share online with friends.” Approximate value: $39.99.
How to Enter:
Just leave a comment below telling me what song you’d want to sing into the microphone! (It doesn’t have to be a T-Pain song!) (Please read official rules below.)
Official Rules: No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years of age or older to enter. You must be able to provide a U.S. address for prize shipment. Your name and address will only be shared with the company in charge of prize fulfillment. Please no P.O. Boxes. One entry per household. Make sure that you enter a valid E-mail address in the E-mail address field so you can be contacted if you win. Winner will be selected at random. Winner has 48 hours to respond. After 48 hours, a new winner will be selected at random. Giveaway entries are being accepted between October 17th, 2011 through October 25th, 2011. Entries received after October 25th, 2011 at 11:59 pm, will not be considered. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. If you win, by accepting the prize, you are agreeing that Latinaish.com assumes no liability for damages of any kind. By entering your name below you are agreeing to these Official Rules. Void where prohibited by law.
Disclosure: I received this product for review purposes. No other compensation was given. As always, all opinions are my own.
