by Allie Jordan
Hola y’all, it’s me again, Allie, reporting from sunny Yucatán. This week I’m serving up a spotify playlist that’s sure to get you daydreaming of sugar skulls and breezy beaches. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a fluent Spanish speaker to dig these groovy tunes. Besides some of the songs are sung in English, and others are sung in my language of choice — Spanglish. So without further ado, hit shuffle and disfruta!
My Playlist Top Ten:
“Muerte En Hawaii” Calle 13: happy go-lucky ukelele jam, favorite line “soy todo lo que soy, porque tu eres todo lo que quiero” (I am all that I am, because you are all that I want) *collective awwww*
“Down in Mexico” The Coasters: Classic, simply classic Mexico vibes
“Como Te Voy Olvidar” Los Angeles Azules, Nortec Collective: Here in Yucatán we love a little thing called cumbia. Cumbia’s like salsa but better. Como Te Voy Olvidar (How Can I Forget you) is a classic song — seriously everyone, and I mean everyone, will sing and at times yell this song when it’s played. In this version, the Mexi-famous Los Angeles Azules pair up with the hip Nortec Collective to create a modernized version of an old classic.
“Frijolero” Molotov: This is the song I use to initiate all my friends when they visit the Yucatán. You guessed it, frijolero means beaner, but don’t worry, this song’s all in good fun… and maybe it could teach us gringos a thing or two, verdad? Favorite line, “now why don’t you look down to where your feet is planted/ that U.S. soil that makes you take [stuff] for granted/ If not for Santa Ana, just to let you know/ where your feet are planted would be Mexico/ Correcto!”
“Ojalá que llueva café” Café Tacvba: translation, I hope it rains coffe., I mean who doesn’t hope it rains coffee, am I right? You’ll see a few songs by Café Tacvba on this playlist, and really, I recommend them all, hence why they’re on the playlist. This one gets reallyyyy good around 1:40.
“Oye Como Va” Santana: Us Americans are familiar with Santana, and this one gets played frequently on study abroad trips… just ask Dr. Bowley’s 2013-14 winter Yucatán class. (I’m lookin’ at you, Dustin Garig).
“I’m Bound to Pack it Up” The White Stripes: Because you’ll be bound to pack it up and go away to Yucatán for the fall semester after listening to this playlist.
“No Necesito Nada” No Te Va Gustar: translation, “I don’t need anything” by You’re Not Going to Like It, but I promise you will like it.
“Uptown Funk” Bruno Mars: I know what you’re thinking, why did she put Bruno Mars on her Yucatán playlist? Well, first it’s to be noted that I also put Selena Gomez on the playlist, and second, it’s because this song is SUPER popular here right now, and third, helllloooo there’s a shout out to Jackson, Mississippi, therefore it was more like an obligation to include Uptown Funk.
“Every Other Freckle” alt-J: This song has absolutely nothing to do with Mexico, EXCEPT that it is the perfect driving song, just ask my number one comadre, Mandi Strickland. We jam to this song every time we’re headed to Yaxhachen to Ko’ox Boon with the cutest niños in the world.
Reblogged this on Millsaps College Yucatán.