Si no te hubieras ido :: Mana

As my friend Stacey and I drove through California's interior last week, we had the opportunity to experience many, many Spanish-language radio stations. Several times, this song gave us a respite from the constant wampa-wampa-wampa of the banda music.

Mana is not in any way an "indie" or "emerging group"- they are HUGE in Latin America, and have been for a long time. They are like the Mexican Bon Jovi. Or Aerosmith. Or some other band that rocks out but not too hard for the radio.

When this song came on, I had a weird deja vu feeling. The song seemed amazingly familiar; in fact, I even started singing along to it in places. I knew it was a cover of something I'd heard before... Turns out that this is one of the most covered songs on iTunes. It's amazing; type in the song title, and you can hear over 50 versions of it, in every style imaginable. I recommend that you do that; it's actually pretty cute and fun.

It's not a revolutionary song. It's just about missing someone. The lyrics are a little heart-breaking in their sparseness. "Te extrano mas que nunca y no se que hacer/ Despierto y recuerdo en el amanecer" I miss you more than ever / I wake and remember you at daybreak... La gente pasa y pasa siempre tan igual/ El ritmo de la vida me parece mal. The people pass and pass always just the same / The rhythm of life seems wrong to me "Era tan diferente cuando estabas tu..." It was so different when you were here. No hay nada mas dificil que vivir sin ti... There's nothing harder than living without you.

Pansexual :: Mono Mono

During the last few days of lazy googling, I came across the song "Pansexual" by Mono Mono, also known as the artist Jeffrey Beringer, a self-identified pansexual. Beringer lives and creates his art in the San Diego/Tijuana borderlands area. The song is in Spanish and I assumed this guy was Mexican, but he's actually an Anglo American.

If you understand Spanish, you'll be in for a good giggle. This song brings a big grin to my face. Every time you hear "cojo," think the English word "fuck." The song's definition of pansexuality is a little...broad? Or you can think about it this way: this song is about pansexuality in the way the Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" is about bisexuality. Which is to say, it's not very much about that at all. But it's got a great beat and it's really fun.

Especially enjoyable is the mini-chorus "Cojo entonces existo"--> "I fuck, therefore I am." hahahaha

Me Gustas Tu :: Manu Chao

I first heard this song seven years ago, when I was studying in Mexico. Manu Chao is this amazing musician of the "world music" variety, which I'm coming to believe means that he's hugely popular everywhere EXCEPT the United States. Anyway, Manu Chao is a Spanish-French musician who is highly influenced by indigenous music from Latin America. His songs are mainly in Spanish, and in general focus on the stories of people marginalized by capitalism and imperialism.

"Me Gustas Tu" roughly translates to "I Like You" in English (but it's more like "You make me happy" or "You are pleasing to me"). He lists off all these random things he likes (planes, wind, marijuana....) and always concludes "I like you." The chorus is Spanish and French: What am I gonna do? I don't know. I still don't know. I'm lost...

The loneliness of this song is what gets me. I remember those days of being a stranger in a strange land, when planes had just crashed into the World Trade Center, when all travel was grounded, when the war started with Afghanistan... and I came back to a different home. The old stuff was never coming back.

Que hora son mi corazon
Te lo dije bien clarito
Permanece a la escucha

Permanece a la escucha
12 de la noche en La Habana, Cuba
11 de la noche en San Salvador, El Salvador
11 de la noche en Maragua, Nicaragua
Me gustan los aviones, me gustas tu.
Me gusta viajar, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la maana, me gustas tu.
Me gusta el viento, me gustas tu.
Me gusta soar, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la mar, me gustas tu.
Que voy a hacer,
je ne sais pas
Que voy a hacer
Je ne sais plus
Que voy a hacer
Je suis perdu
Que horas son, mi corazn
Me gusta la moto, me gustas tu.
Me gusta correr, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la lluvia, me gustas tu.
Me gusta volver, me gustas tu.
Me gusta marihuana, me gustas tu.
Me gusta colombiana, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la montaa, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la noche, me gustas tu.
Que voy a hacer,
je ne sais pas
Que voy a hacer
Je ne sais plus
Que voy a hacer
Je suis perdu
Que horas son, mi corazn

Me gusta la cena, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la vecina, me gustas tu.
Me gusta su cocina, me gustas tu.
Me gusta camelar, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la guitarra, me gustas tu.
Me gusta el regaee, me gustas tu.
Que voy a hacer,
je ne sais pas
Que voy a hacer
Je ne sais plus
Que voy a hacer
Je suis perdu
Que horas son, mi corazn
Me gusta la canela, me gustas tu.
Me gusta el fuego, me gustas tu.
Me gusta menear, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la Corua, me gustas tu.
Me gusta Malasaa, me gustas tu.
Me gusta la castaa, me gustas tu.
Me gusta Guatemala, me gustas tu.
Que voy a hacer,
je ne sais pas
Que voy a hacer
Je ne sais plus
Que voy a hacer
Je suis perdu
Que horas son, mi corazn
Que voy a hacer,
je ne sais pas
Que voy a hacer
Je ne sais plus
Que voy a hacer
Je suis perdu
Que horas son, mi corazon
Que voy a hacer,
je ne sais pas
Que voy a hacer
Je ne sais plus
Que voy a hacer
Je suis perdu
Que horas son, mi corazon

Que horas son, mi corazon
Que horas son, mi corazon
Que horas son, mi corazon

Que horas son, mi corazon

Que horas son, mi corazon

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