El verbo ser

In this module, we’ll learn the most important verb there is: “to be.” See if you can find a form of the verb ser in each title below! (Links to music videos in the online textbook)

Bomba Estéreo — Soy yo
Bomba Estéreo is a Colombian band founded in the capital, Bogotá, in 2005 by Simón Mejía. Their music has been described as “electro tropical” or “psychedelic cumbia”.

Las Cafeteras — Mujer Soy
Las Cafeteras is a Chicano band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music fuses spoken word and folk music, with traditional Son Jarocho, Afro-Mexican music and zapateado dancing.

Ana Tijoux (Feat. Shadia Mansour) — Somos sur
Anamaría Tijoux Merino, commonly known by her stage name Ana Tijoux or Anita Tijoux, is a French-Chilean musician. She became famous in Latin America as the MC of hip-hop group Makiza during the late 1990s. In 2006, she crossed over to the mainstream of Latin pop after her collaboration with Mexican songstress Julieta Venegas in the radio hit “Eres para mí”.

Julieta Venegas — Eres para mí
Julieta Venegas Percevault is an American-born Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer who sings pop-rock in Spanish. The Los Angeles Times praised “Her lyrics of wounded idealism and wrecked love affairs [which] extend a rich Mexican tradition of popular music imbued in bitter fatalism.”

Café Tacvba — Eres
Café Tacuba (stylized Café Tacvba) is a band from Ciudad Satélite, Mexico. Their musical style covers a wide variety of genres, though it is most commonly labeled as Latin Alternative/Rock en Español. Their music has been heavily influenced by Mexico’s indigenous population and folk music traditions, but also by punk and electronic music and other bands on the Mexico City scene.

Los colores

In the second half of the module, we’ll learn how to describe things with adjectives, starting with the adjectives of color. Which colors are these songs about?

Rodrigo y Gabriela – Diablo Rojo
Rodrigo y Gabriela (Rodrigo and Gabriela) are a Mexican acoustic guitar duo whose music is influenced by a number of genres including nuevo flamenco, rock, and heavy metal.

J. Balvin – Blanco

Zoé – Azul
Zoé is a Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock band.

Shakira – Amarillo

X Alfonso – No hay azul sin ti
X Alfonso is a Cuban hip hop and afro-rock musician.