Calle 13 – Puerto Rico



¡Bienvenidos de nuevo!

Good afternoon class. Welcome back to the Spanish segment of rogerzmusic. This week’s artist and album come to us from El conquistador, Puerto Rico. The group is comprised of two half brothers, René Joglar and Eduardo Martínez, who grew up visiting each other on 13th Street (Calle 13) in their hometown. They are one of the latest of many artists classified under the genera Reggaetón. Born in the early 90’s in Puerto Rico, Reggaetón is a Spanish form of hip-hop with Caribbean beats. Shortly after its inception, artists like DJ Playero and Daddy Yankee brought Reggaetón to homes and nightclubs around the world. True to its roots, the lyrics are usually misogynistic, perverse, and filled with profane language. To my surprise, I had 15-year-old freshman in class this year that could sing songs like Gasolina from memory without having a single idea of what the lyrics meant.

While Calle 13 does tend to conform to the normal vulgarities of the genera, there are a few gems of this album worth listening to. Songs like ¡Atrévete, te, te! and Se vale both made it to the top 10 charts for their infectious rhythms and honest lyrics. My personal favorite, La jirafa, is coincidentally the least offensive. Titled, “The giraffe”, this song is about love, serenity, and food. Hope you enjoy it!

Calle 13 – Puerto Rico
La jirafa
http://www.myspace.com/calle13officialsite
http://www.lacalle13.com/



If you’d like to check out more, the group did a duo with Nelly Furtado earlier this year titled No hay igual (There is no equal). René turns up the heat with lyrics that seem to objectify Nelly more than compliment her, but she holds her own.



Grammar Point: We all know that in English verbs change (but not always) depending on who is doing the action. For example, the verb to be is conjugated as I am, you are, he/she is. Meanwhile other verbs don’t change at all; I went, you went, he/she went. In Spanish, the verb haber (to be/to have - depending on context) is the only verb that is not always conjugated to reflect the subject. While verbs like ser (to be) are always conjugated to match the subject that is being (soy – I am, eres – you are), haber is usually conjugated in third person singular. The irregular present tense form of the verb is hay which can mean both “there is” and “there are”. The two past tense forms, hubo and había, can mean both “there was” or “there were”.

Till next time!
Señor DeVane

Expresión del día:
¡No seas chamaco! no say-ahs cha-mock-oh (Don’t be a brat!) – I say this one in class on a regular basis. However it only has meaning in Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Posted: Tue - July 17, 2007 at 05:52 PM           |

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