In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month,* Audra Heaslip curated a list of songs in Spanish, English, and Nahuatl from a variety of countries and regions, musical genres both traditional and modern, indigenous music, and a diversity of genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and nationalities.”
- “La Carta” by Violeta Parra
- A song about famine and injustice in Chile, from the genre Nueva Cancion
- “La Llorona” by Angela Aguilar
- A modern take on a traditional Mexican song about the legendary Weeping Woman
- “Vida de Rico” by Camilo
- A romantic song in the Cumbia genre, which originated in the traditional music of Camilo’s native Colombia
- “Tu Solo Tu” by Selena
- A love song by the genre-crossing Tejana superstar. This particular song is in the ranchero genre, a traditional Mexican style.
- “Assanhado” by Plínio Fernandes
- This song is a traditional Brazilian folk song in the choro style, considered to be the predecessor to samba and bossa nova
- “Suavemente” by Elvis Crespo
- Crespo is a Grammy-winning Puerto Rican songwriter and this song is one of the most famous ever recorded in the African-influenced genre merengue, which originated in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
- “Mi Corazoncito” by Aventura
- Aventura is a New-York based band that is known for its performances of bachata, a genre that originated in the Dominican Republic.
- “Comarapa“ by Los Kjarkas
- A song about being proud to be from Comarapa, a tiny Bolivian town, by Los Kjarkas, a popular Andean folk music band from Bolivia.
- “Tijeras” by Renata Flores
- Flores mixes traditional Peruvian music with modern trap and hip hop in this song that calls attention to the problem of femicide in Peru.
- “Sage Up (Ft. Stic + DJ Cavem + Matene Strikesfirst)” by Xiuhtezcatl
- American-born Mexica (indigenous group from central Mexico) rapper Xiuhtezcatl performs in English, Spanish, and Nahuatl and focuses on indigenous and environmental issues in his music.
- “Sur” by Susana Rinaldi
- Rinaldi is a famous Argentine TV and stage actor and tango singer from Buenos Aires.
- “Guaguancó” by Wilson & Friends
- A 1993 performance of Cuban song in the guaguanco genre, otherwise known as Cuban rumba.
- “Oye Cómo Va” by Tito Puente
- A classic in the Cuban genre of cha-cha-chá.
- “Tiro” by Arca
- Alejandra Ghersi (Arca) is a transgender experimental artist and producer from Venezuela who works with some of the biggest electronic musicians in the world.
- “Con Altura” by Rosalia Ft. J Balvin
- Rosalia, from Spain, is known for blending traditional Spanish flamenco styles with hip hop and electronic sounds. J Balvin is a Dominican singer in the urban Latino and reggaeton styles.
- “Wacha” by Sasha Sathya
- Sathya is a transgender MC in Argentina’s reggaeton and rap underground, and she sings about issues like gendered violence and affordable access to mental health resources.
“Hispanic Heritage Month” is not so straightforward. Some have moved to calling it Latinx Heritage Month, but that comes with its own set of complications. If you would like to get a better sense of why “it’s complicated,” here are a few quick reads: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/17/1037741009/yes-were-calling-it-hispanic-heritage-month-and-we-know-it-makes-some-of-you-cri and https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/latinx-hispanic-heritage-month
To see past song lists and learn more about the Handwashing Karaoke machine, visit http://fashioningcircuits.com/?p=3990