The 10 songs that all Spaniards know
10 VERBENA SONGS TO LEARN SPANISH:
One of the best options to learn a language is to listen to music in that language. It is a very practical and fun way to learn new vocabulary, expressions and above all to improve pronunciation. This is one of the tips I indicated in my post on 3 steps you should follow to improve your Spanish.
Here is a sample of international Spanish songs.
The songs that I have included for this blog entry are not current songs, they are classics of Spanish music that you can hear in many verbenas and popular festivals. They are those songs that young and old sing no matter how old they are, in conclusion all Spaniards know them.
If you are wondering what is a “verbena” I define it as follows: it is a popular party with music and dance that is celebrated outdoors and at night, usually the night before a festival. They are celebrated especially in summer.
Here we go! Here are the best songs of all times in Spanish:
- Libre – Nino Bravo
This Valencian singer, who has such a powerful voice, sang to freedom in 1972. At this time Spain was still living under the dictatorship of General Franco. More details about this song: it tells the story of the German Peter Fechter who died trying to jump over the wall that divided Berlin in two.
2) Mi gran noche – Raphael
One of the best known songs of the singer Raphael, it was part of the soundtrack of the movie Digan lo que digan in 1967. In recent years it has become popular again among young people and does not fail in popular festivals or other celebrations.
3) Como yo te amo – Rocío Jurado
This song has been sung by many artists over the years, but, without a doubt, one of the most special voices has been Rocío Jurado.
She was a copla singer (Spanish popular music style with origins in flamenco and popular folklore). This artist had the nickname of «la más grande» (the greatest) and the song was an authentic declaration of love, sung with great passion.
4) 19 días y 500 noches – Joaquín Sabina
Joaquín Sabina is one of the most recognized Spanish singer-songwriters, his songs are characterized by having a lot of rhymes worthy of a great poet. One of his best known songs is 19 días y 500 noches, a song about the days and nights it took the singer to forget a love.
5) Mediterráneo – Joan Manuel Serrat
This song was written and published in 1971, a song that talks about the Mediterranean Sea and the Mediterranean culture. Since that time it has become a classic of Spanish music.
In many surveys that talk about the best Spanish songs in the history of the Mediterranean Joan Manuel Serrat is at number one, for some reason it will be. What do you think? Do you like it?
6) Corazón partío (partido) – Alejandro Sanz
Possibly the most current song of those included in this list, with this song Alejandro Sanz reached the hearts of many Spaniards. My students really like this song to learn Spanish.
7) Vivir así es morir de amor – Camilo Sesto
Another singer with a powerful voice singing with great passion about love, specifically about falling out of love. Camilo Sesto achieved a great number of international successes with this and many other songs.
8) Eres tú – Mocedades
This group of men and women has the peculiarity that they are all family. There is a married couple and the rest are siblings.
This song was presented at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 and came in second place but achieved great international success, many versions were made in other languages.
9) Soy un truhan soy un señor – Julio Iglesias
Until the arrival of his son Enrique Iglesias, he was considered the most international Spanish artist. He has a great variety of songs, but today we are going to dedicate this one to the little pleasures of life. A clarification, a “truhan” is an adjective used to designate a scoundrel or swindler.
Number 10 is dedicated to one of the most international songs that continues to be the queen of any self-respecting party: La Macarena. I want to share with you its original version that was released by the group Los del Río in 1993.
Have you ever danced to La Macarena? If you know more songs to learn Spanish that you think may be useful for other Spanish learners, feel free to share them in the comments.
