Week 5: Cancioneros

José Guadalupe Posada

These cancioneros are important--they're the heart of the course, but I never find the right way to give you all the material--so let's use this new week to do so. All at once. I know, it may be overwhelming, but then you'll have them, and we can refer to a fuller range of the songs as we go along over the next weeks. I quite realize that I've learned them over the course of years, so doing this all at once may be unreasonable--but if we don't, well then, we won't. So let's do... And you'll have the next years to learn them as well. (Ask me about Carolina... la chaparrita...)

You have the first of the song books (given out in class, blue or mauve covers). I'll give you two more--yellow and green. I like for you to have the printed songs in hand. But remember that in addition to the printed copies, I have all of this material posted on my S&P SONGBOOKS blog:

http://anthonydubovsky33.blogspot.com/

The primary sets are on the left: Canciones Mexicanas I and II. The suplementos are in the blog archive column to the right-- Suplementos 1: México SP2015  and Suplementos 2: México SP2016..

I'll be making comments in class de vez en cuando sobre mis favoritas--about some of my favorites. As songs are mentioned in class, you can mark them on your cancioneros so that you'll have a weighted list--and know which ones to concentrate on.

Links to the recordings for the songs (the recorded musical versions) are on same blog page, below. Download and import into your iTunes with xml files for metadata (artist, album, etc.) Make a playlist and be listening.

Again--I realize this is a large amount of material. So edit your playlist as we go along--adding the songs I suggest in class along with your own favorites. Over time, they'll add up. Also--ASK ME QUESTIONS. The acquisition is gradual, and I'll try to help guide you.

You can also easily find recorded versions on YouTube, but do so by artist recommended...

PROJECT. For this week, I want you to pick one good song--just from listening, not knowing anything about it--then work back to the letra (lyrics) and do some online research to learn more about the song, the singer and the composer... see if you can find the earliest recorded version. Does the song have a prior history in popular culture? (La Zandunga, por ejemplo.) Make your new project in response...

Next week's wall will be a kind of musical ceviche (gazpacho, bouillabaisse)--we'll see what special ingredients you bring to the table...

And Angela will talk about using Spotify for playlists...
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The following week we'll return to a closer look at some of the best of the songs, one by one...
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READING. We need to start Octavio Paz--so read El Laberinto de la Soledad, Best with print copy of book, but until yours arrives, you can use the Spanish pdf posted in DOWNLOADS folder to right.