Thanks for all Latin Music

Posted on 30. Nov, 2009 by Hector Aviles in Blog

I’m thankful to have the bunch of friends we have. We got together 3 of the 4 days off we had due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. In these 3 meetings, the house hosts played a variety of their favorite music, and it seems we all enjoyed all the Latin music played, even when it was not the one we call our favorite. When you have the opportunity to transmit your passion for your favorite music, people with an open mind will feel that passion and find the spark that makes that music beautiful.

Try listening to new music with a friend that loves it

Tony Croatto y Quique Domenech

During this Thanksgiving holiday weekend we all enjoyed Latin music we normally don’t listen to much. I hosted the Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, and since after Thanksgiving is the official start of the Christmas season in the U.S., I started playing some of my lighter Christmas music at dinner. In our group we had Mexicans from various parts of the country, Colombians, and Puerto Ricans. My friends especially enjoyed some “nueva trova” music by the late Tony Croatto, and a Christmas recording by Puerto Rican cuatro guitar player Quique Domenech titled “Feliz Navidad”. I always include my favorite Tony Croatto recording “Arrimese Mi Compay” in which he partnered with his “Haciendo Punto en Otro Son” pal Silverio Perez. This is a beautiful recording, and my friends could appreciate the true richness and beauty of folk Puerto Rican music. On the other hand, Quique Domenech’s “Feliz Navidad” include some Puerto Rican Christmas classics, including Jose Feliciano’s now Hall of Fame song “Feliz Navidad”. Some songs include children singing, which makes it a very family friendly recording.

Then on Saturday night, we had a Colombian “ajiaco” dinner, which turned into a Karaoke night as my Colombian host friend has an audio mixer and microphones we use to do sing alongs. We played all kinds of Latin music, from Mariachi rancheras to Salsa, to Rock en Español, to Merengues, to Jose Jose ballads. It seemed everyone took turns singing their favorite songs. The good thing about digital music is that you can use Windows Media Player as a kind of jukebox. We each chose a couple of songs we liked, searching by either genre, artist, or song name, and add them to the playlist. When the song came up, we could step to the mic to sing. It was a blast. The highlight was “Pedro Navaja”, because we did an impromptu acting of the song, which the kids loved.

When you see friends singing their favorite music, you can’t avoid the transmission of their passion to you. Your senses are already opened to listen, because you know very well the person behind the mic. There must be a reason why they like that music so much, and you are willing to explore why by watching them sing it, even, and perhaps specially, when they can’t keep a tune. I have found that our group has learned to appreciate each other’s favorite music. I believe there are two reasons for this:

1. We learned of music didn’t know – because we choose the best of our favorites, we get to listen some great latin music we never heard before. And in most cases, it turns out to be very interesting music.

2. We learn more about the music – our friends get to share with us the story behind the music. They can tell us how the music reminds them of a certain situation, and we almost get to re-live those moments with them. Or they tell us the story of the artist, or of the particular song, and then you listen to it with a different perspective.

That’s why I like to blog about Latin music. I like to share my stories so that you share yours and we all get to learn about music we didn’t know, and learn some stories behind the music, so that you get a different perspective on the music you are listening to.

Take a chance with a genre of Latin music you don’t listen to much. Next time the radio or a friend plays something different to what you normally listen to, take a moment to listen closely instead of dismissing it. If you are lucky enough to be with a friend that likes the music, use it as a conversation spark. Ask them why they like it so much. What memories does it bring. You’ll get to know your friend even better and learn something new about Latin music, which can only make you a better music fan.

If you had a similar experience exploring with music you don’t normally listen to, I would love to read your story. Leave a comment below for us to enjoy.

No related posts.

Tags: Christmas, latin music, Quique Domenech, salsa, Thanksgiving, Tony Croatto