Qué Pasa, Raúl: Spanish Thru Songs

In this episode we learn about la movida, an exciting time of countercultural creativity that took place in Spain during the late 1970's and early 1980's, after forty long years of fascist dictatorship. One of the many punk-influenced acts to come out at this time was the duo Almodóvar y McNamara. The former would soon become Spain's most international film director, whilst Fabio McNamara was a punk-trash superstar in his own right and collaborated in many of his singing pal's early

In this episode we learn about Spanish singer-songwriter Antonio Flores, who achieved commercial success in the mid 90's with his album Cosas mías ('Stuff of mine'). Sadly, this masterful work would also be his last: shortly after the album release, Flores went into deep depression, following the death of his mother, the legendary singer, dancer and actress Lola Flores. Only two weeks after she passed, he was found dead from a drug overdose. The song we explore is track number 9 from

In this episode we discuss a song by legendary Chilean songwriter Víctor Jara, 'Cuando voy al trabajo'. In the 1960's and 1970's, Jara - admired by Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and others - became a powerful voice for social change and hope throughout Chile and beyond. His life was to end tragically under the bullets of a new, brutal military regime. In the song, narrated in the first person, we follow a construction worker as he is on his way to his building site, absorbed by thoughts of

In our first episode we learn about Spanish singer-songwriter Kiko Veneno, and explore the language used in his song Me siento en la cama. We will hear some vocabulary related to daily routines and simple sentences in the first person of the present tense. In short, a perfect song for beginners! ***** Sign up ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ for the show's free Newsletter. You can give us some love with a one-off donation at ⁠⁠Buy Me a Coffee⁠⁠. Your support is much appreciated and will help me keep creating new