Julieta Venegas @ Bakersfield, CA

Mexican indie pop icon, Julieta Venegas, played at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, CA. We made a 2 hour road trip from Los Angeles with our good friends Carlos and Zoey to watch some catchy pop tunes sung in Spanish.

We arrived at 8:00 pm to the venue where Korn (actually, they hail from this city) launched there 2006 World Tour [sounds random but we acknowledge it because they had a commemorative plaque outside the venue].

This convention center had several events at the same time (like Disney on Ice) but our venue was a medium-sized theater with seats. It was kind of empty but Julieta's performance was well worth it. She was accompanied by 6 all-around musicians (two kick ass chicks included) who changed guitars, keyboards, trumpets and other instruments between themselves.

They delivered a very warm and intimate set which reminded me of Belle and Sebastian's DC gig back in Oct 2010. The comparison came to my mind because it was a lot of musicians and instruments on-stage delivering beautiful music. The difference was that it was done with a very mexican flavor to it. In addition, the drummer played with only one stick during the entire set, which was very cool. The interaction between the band and the public was very good.

Julieta sang hits such as Canciones de Amor, Eres para mí (in which she rapped Anita Tijoux's verses), Lento, Amores Perros Me Van A Matar (from the classic Iñarritu film soundtrack), Debajo de mi lengua, Me Voy, Ya Conocerán (which she announced will have a music video soon), Algo Está Cambiando and a cover of La Jaula de Oro by Los Tigres del Norte.

After an hour and a half, the band left the stage but returned to sang their last three songs Revolución, Sin Documentos and Andar Conmigo. Overall it was a great show, full of her hits. Even though it was a very small audience, Julieta and his backing band played with tons of energy. Definitely would see Julieta Venegas again but never going back to Korn's hometown.

New flicks from the usual auteurs

Todd Solondz's Life During Wartime


Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void


Chris Nolan's Inception


Robert Rodríguez's Machete

Hip hop in spanish

Hip Hop music was created by African-American New Yorkers in the late 70s and early 80s. But in that early scene a couple of puertoricans like DJ Disco Wiz, Prince Whipper Whip, Prince Markie Dee and Wise from Stetsasonic made their contribution to the growth. By 1985, the first rap in Spanish arrived with Vico-C, born in New York and raised in Puerto Rico. His influence in the spanish-speaking world is undeniable in the late 80s and early 90s. All latin american countries as well as Spain by the 90s developed a hip hop scene in their own kind of way.

In Spain, hip hop evolved into a popular genre between their youth with major acts like Violadores del Verso, Nach, SFDK or Tote King along with minor acts like Los Chikos del Maíz, Jesuly, Shogun XL or Dogma Crew. These acts are not millionaire celebrities like the major north american rappers or the reggaeton artists but have the respect of the entire spanish-speaking community with their good lyrics, great beats and non-gangster attitudes. Any of these spaniard acts goes to Latin America and sold-out their shows to loyal fans.


In Latin-America has remained very underground. Events like Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos or the Hip Hop Summits/Festivals in Venezuela, Colombia or Dominican Republic have created a sense of unity between the countries in the Caribbean, Central America, South America and the latinos in the US.

Puerto Rico is a unique case because of three reasons:
1-Reggaeton's huge impact in the population helped Hip Hop became a reactionary underground movement rebelling against the status-quo in the late 90s with rappers like Ovrdoze (Tek-1 and J-Mo), Conciencia Poética (Luís Díaz, 79 and producer Yall'zee), EA Flow, Ciencia Fixión (Dr.Who, Centro, Dreuxifer and DJ Nature from the Texas), Mad Steelo, Velcro, Welmo, Nebula, No Mel Syndicate, Gunzsmoke, etc.
2-The majority of these rappers grew up on Cable TV (Yo! MTV Raps for example) as the same time of stateside americans.
3-The constant flux of puertoricans between New York and Puerto Rico because of the US citizenship of puerto ricans helped create an understanding of hip hop culture very early on unlike the rest of spanish-speaking countries.

The result is a tight scene of great mc's/producers/dj's with an US/Early spanish rap pioneers like Vico-C influence who can flow well in both spanish and english. Their lyrics are intelligent as most of them are middle-class and college-educated (Velcro is a Harvard grad and Luís Díaz has an MA degree, for example) or self-educated in socio-political themes. Also, most of them have communication with stateside puerto ricans who are involved with hip hop in their own states (Babalú Machete, Joell Ortiz and Thirstin Howl III from New York, Yeyo of "The Dey" from Miami, Temperamento from Rhode Island, Chino XL from New Jersey or Termanology from MA, for example). These stateside puertoricans collaborate with the islanders (Tropical Storm compilation of the late 90s made by Babalu Machete, for example) very often helping to create a sense of unity between puerto rican rappers in both places.

Cuba is another unique case because of their socio-political status. They have created the most fierce, well-read and real hip hop since the glory days of hip hop in the late 80s and early 90s. Acts like Randy Acosta, Papá Humbertico, Los Aldeanos, Los Paisanos and Anónimo Consejo are praised by fellow spanish-speaking rappers around the world. Their most famous export is Orishas, who moved to Europe and gained success in countries like Spain and France although their style is more commercial. Hardcore-Rap icon Randy Acosta, now living in Finland, with two great albums under his wing like "Jodido Protagonista" and "Zangre, Zudor y Lagri+" made huge impact in latin america. Other notable export is Mahoma from Explosión Suprema, married to andalusian rapper La Mala Rodríguez, and one of her hypemans. In all, Cuban hip hop is mostly underground, political and very real.

Other countries like Chile (Makiza, Tiro de Gracia, Némesis and ZicutaEjecuta)
and México (Boca Floja, Cartel de Santa and Control Machete) have big rap artists. Also there's hip hop culture in Dominican Republic (led by Lápiz Consciente, Espadasofia, Circuito Negro, etc.), Argentina (Frescolate; winner of the Red Bull battle in 2005), Colombia ( the most famous being Tres Coronas and La Etnnia) and the rest of latin america.

To conclude, hip hop in spanish began in Puerto Rico in 1985 but did not evolved into a full fledged culture because of the reggaeton virus. It remain underground with high-level artists with no media exposure. Stateside puerto ricans have helped the scene but not that much to compete with the radio-friendly reggaeton. In Spain, it became a great youth culture with major acts that can live from the music and are icons in Spain and Latin America. Cuba remains as the purest form of the genre and mainly reflects the reality of cuban life. Mexico and Chile have greater hip hop scenes but don't transcend to the whole lot of spanish-speaking countries. And the rest of the countries have small scenes but serves as the outlet for the youth to fight against their social inequalities.

Post Scriptum: Highlighted are the most important artists but feel free to lookout for any of these spanish-speaking rap artists through their official webpages or myspaces. Very recommended.

Rudo y Cursi by Carlos Cuarón

Rudo y Cursi is the first feature film directed by mexican screenwriter Carlos Cuarón. The movie is produced by Cha Cha Cha, a company integrated by fellow mexican directors Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo Del Toro. Starring are Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna with supporting roles by puertorrican actress Jessica Mas and argentinean actor Guillermo Francella.

The story of brothers Tato "Cursi" Verdusco (Gael) and Beto "Rudo" Verdusco (Diego) who work in a plantation in their poor Mexican town. They also play in the local soccer team. One day a scout, Batuta (Francella), arrives and watches them playing. Tato is the first who is drafted to play at a soccer club in DF called "Deportivo Amaranto" but he also wants to be a singer. Rudo eventually is scouted to another team in DF to play as the goalie. They both become famous players but Cursi falls for a beautiful model (Mas) who is a social climber and Rudo becomes an avid gambler. Both brothers are against each other at the final soccer game of their lives.

Cuarón's debut as a director is very-well accomplished. The photography is great because of the contrast between the poor coastal mexican towns and the urban life at the DF. The story flows very smoothly without flashbacks or any goofy camera tricks that enhances a non-linear storytelling. His brother's camera work, like long takes are seen a couple of times throughout the film as well as the use of a voice-over narrator who explains the context. Gael and Diego's acting complement very well the kind of funny but very real story that Cuarón tries to tell. The script resembles his shorts like "Me la Debes" (You Owe Me One) and his famous movie "Y tu mamá también" in the sense of being a simple, funny, sexy and thought-provoking drama that can be enjoyed anytime.

Carlos Cuarón along with brother Alfonso, Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guillermo Arriaga and Carlos Reygadas are the new generation of mexican filmmakers who are making spanish-speaking cinema stand for itself nowadays.

The Burning Plain by Guillermo Arriaga

The Burning Plain is the first film directed by acclaimed mexican screenwriter, Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel; all directed by fellow mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu. And also wrote, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada directed by actor turned director Tommy Lee Jones). Starring are Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, Jennifer Lawrence and Joaquim de Almeida.

The story of Mariana (Lawrence) who lives with her family in a mexican border town. Her mother (Basinger) is having a clandestine affair with a mexican man (Almeida). After several events, she meets the mexican man's son with whom she later had a little girl, Maria. Time passes, Sylvia (Theron) has a tormented life as a restaurant hostess in Portland who has promiscuous sex with several men. Her ex teenage lover, Santiago, has a plane crash resulting on him asking a friend, Carlos, who along with his daughter go and look for Mariana so that they can see each other for the first time.

Arriaga still uses his trademark multiple stories that are connected but with a little change, is only one story in different times and spaces. There is an "accident" that connects the characters and storylines (the plane crash) as in his previous movies (Amores Perros and 21 grams; car crash and Babel; the gun shot). For a first time director is very well told, it runs back and forth between the three stories and reveals the facts gradually as it evolves.

The photography and the music fits perfectly with the great performances by Theron and Basinger. The use of both spanish and english language gives a more realistic tone to the film. Arriaga proved that he can be a good writer but also can direct a good complex and entertaining film.