A little help with the language

I am sure that there are some Spanish speakers in this group. Yo estudiar Espanyol. Yo quierro aprendar a hablar muy bien Espanyol.

Yo tengo un pregunta. I am studying and want to expose myself to as much of the language as possible. I would like some of you guys to give me some ideas on music to listen to. I dig salsa and music with a beat. But I also want to listen to spanish singing to help expose myself to the words.

Any suggestions? Particular Artists / Por Favor.

Richard

Hi Richard. I don't speak much more Spanish than you, and I'm definitely not one of the "old hands" at Latin American travel. But, for where I am and what I do, it's important for me to learn Spanish whether or not I ever get to Colombia. So here's what I like and what works for me. First: the Pimsleur CD's are what accompany me on my commute to and from work. They're spoken word drills, recorded by native Spanish speakers. For what you pay for parts I, II, and III, you can fund much of a trip to Colombia, but the CDs seem to work. Another thing I've been listening to quite a bit is Soraya's "Cuerpo y Alma". Soraya is a colobiana estadounidense, see http://www.soraya.com. Half her tracks on that album are in English, she mixes language within songs, and she has back-up singers singing in English behind Spanish songs. I'm suppose that would bother some, but I find it a nice change of pace from the ranchera that's the mainstay of Spanish-language radio around here. Since I'm making a concerted effort to learn Spanish I've given up my Merle Haggard and Bob Edwards. When I'm not listening to the CDs, the radio is locked on ranchera or Satélite Radio Bilingüe.

Grab yourself at least one each of Marc Anthony and Elvis Crespo, these are muy popular con las calenas.

[Kent]

Is anthony and crespo american artists?

[DCNUPE/Eddie]

YES, American as they come! Both are native Boricas (Puerto Ricans). Marc grew up in NYC, and Elvis remains in the "land of enchantment" (Puerto Rico).

Peace/Cuidate
Eddie

P.S. If you are hardcore salsa listen to Hector Lavoe, Cheo, El Gran Combo, Andy Montanez....etc.....

But young latinas like La India, Marc Anthony, Miles Pena, DLG, Gilberto Santa Rosa...etc

Salsa, cumbia and merengue (which sound rather similar to gringo ears) aren't all of Colombian music. Vallenato, which is a folk music with roots in one of the northern provinces, is also very popular, and some of it's great. I recommend you start with an album by Carlos Vives, who has added drums and some other rock influences--think electric folk music, and you're somewhere in the ballpark. "Clasicas de la Provincia" is terrific, as well as a painless way to work on developing your ear for the language.

doc