El Canto de las Vihuelas performs a 16th century traditional
Spanish Christmas song called "Dadme albricias, hijos d' Eva" ("Bring
Me Gifts, Children of Eve").
Below is a link to the YouTube page of the
group, El Canto de las Vihuelas, who specialize in period music. They
are Maria
Sala (soprano), Paul Baleta (fiddle, viola and vihuela, an early form
of the guitar), and Alejandro Baleta (vihuela, harp and Renaissance
lute).
Hundreds of lucky ticket holders are celebrating in Spain after winning a share of the annual Christmas lottery known as El Gordo, or the Fat One. The world's biggest Christmas lottery, this year's total prize money came to over 2.2 billion euros. Winning tickets came from across the country, including Valencia, Cadiz and Madrid.
I come to you this morning with this message to tell you, with singular emotion, of an important decision and the reasons that moved me to take it.
In my proclamation as king, nearly four decades ago now, I assumed a firm commitment to serve the general interests of Spain, with the desire that citizens would be the protagonists of their own future and that our nation would become a modern democracy, fully integrated into Europe.
I intended then to lead the exciting national task that allowed citizens to choose their legitimate representatives and carry through that great and positive transformation of Spain that we so needed.
Today, when I look back, I can only feel pride and gratitude to you.
Pride for the many good things we have achieved together over the years.
And gratitude for the support you have given me to make my reign, begun in full youth at a time of great uncertainties and difficulties, a long period of peace, stability and progress.
Faithful to the political desire of my father, the Count of Barcelona, from whom I inherited the historic legacy of the Spanish monarchy,
I wanted to be king for all Spaniards. I have identified with and engaged with your hopes, I have enjoyed your successes and suffered when pain or frustration overwhelmed you.
The long and deep economic crisis we are suffering from has left serious scars in the social fabric but it is also showing us the way to a future full of hope.
These difficult years have allowed us to take self-critical stock of our errors and our limitations as a society.
And, as a counterweight, it has also revived the proud awareness of what we have been and are capable of; and of what we have been and are: a great nation.
All this has awakened in us an urge for renewal, to overcome, to correct mistakes and open the way to a decidedly better future.
Today a younger generation deserves to take the front line, with new energies, resolute in undertaking with determination the transformations and reforms that this moment in time demands and to confront tomorrow's challenges with renewed intensity and dedication.
In forging this future, a new generation is rightly claiming its role as protagonist, just as happened in a crucial moment of the history of the generation to which I belong.
My only ambition has been and will continue to be to contribute always to achieve the well-being and progress in freedom of all Spaniards.
I want the best for Spain, to which I have dedicated my entire life and to whose service I have placed all my abilities, my hope and my work.
My son Felipe, heir to the Crown, embodies the stability that is the distinguishing mark of the monarchical institution.
When last January I turned 76, I thought it was time to prepare the handover in a few months so as to leave the way to someone who is in excellent condition to assure that stability.
The Prince of Asturias has the maturity, the readiness and the sense of responsibility needed to take on with full guarantees the leadership of the state and open a new phase of hope combining experience and the drive of a new generation. For that, I know he will count on the support that he will always have from Princess Letizia.
For all these reasons, guided by the conviction of having given my best service to the Spanish people and having recovered physically and resumed my institutional activities, I decided to put an end to my reign and abdicate the Crown of Spain so that the government and parliament can give effect to the succession in line with the constitution.
I have just officially informed the president of the government of this, this morning.
I would like to express my gratitude to the Spanish people, to all who have embodied the powers and institutions of the state during my reign and to all those who have generously and loyally helped me to fulfil my duties.
And my gratitude to the Queen, whose help and generous support have never failed me.
I hold and will always hold Spain deep in my heart.
"Spain's
opposition Socialists said on Tuesday they would call a symbolic vote of
no-confidence against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy if he refused to
appear before Parliament to answer questions about a deepening scandal
over party financing.
"Rajoy's ruling centre-right
People's Party has an absolute majority in Parliament and unless there
were significant defections from members of his party, he would survive
the vote.But a motion of
no-confidence, which has been used only twice since the death of
dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975, would involve him or a
representative appearing in Parliament to defend his actions.Until recently Rajoy had managed to limit the impact of the scandal, which involves alleged illegal donations by construction magnates that were supposedly distributed as cash payments to party leaders in return for juicy contracts. "On Tuesday he told business
leaders at a lunch that he would continue to reject calls to resign and
his strong majority in Parliament was a guarantee of political
stability in Spain, according to a source who was briefed on the meeting.
"Rajoy, who came close to having to ask for a financial rescue last year when the euro zone
crisis was at its worst point, is at pains to differentiate his
leadership from less stable coalition governments elsewhere in southern
Europe. Facing growing pressure
within the PP over his handling of the corruption scandal, he said he
would stick to his political reform program until the 2015 election."
"Señor Rajoy, it is time to give answers - Mariano Rajoy responded with a resounding “no” to opposition calls for him to resign. But he did not give it in his parliamentary headquarters, nor while offering any detailed explanation of the [former People’s Party (PP) treasurer Luiz] Bárcenas case; he gave it as an aside [on July 15] during a press conference with the Polish prime minister and through a statement prepared in advance. [Rajoy] knows very well that what we heard yesterday was not the explanation that is being demanded, and that he will not get off so easy before Parliament."
Spain's Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia went to the opera at the Gran Teatre
del Liceu in Barcelona recently. This is how 'warmly' they were received.
April 27 - September 2, 2013 at the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid
'I don't do drugs. I am drugs.' - Salvador Dali
Through a selection of over two hundred works (paintings, sculptures,
drawings...) organized into eleven sections that follow something of a
chronological order, this exhibition encourages visitors to rethink the
place occupied by Salvador Dalí in the history of 20th century art,
suggesting that his importance as a figure and his legacy stretch beyond
his role as the architect of surrealism. The exhibition – the subtitle
of which comes from his article "San Sebastián" (1927) which constituted
his first artistic manifesto – examines how this controversial and
prolific creator, of unmatched imagination, was capable of generating
perturbing art that speaks directly to spectators. An art that,
reflecting the scientific discoveries of the times, explores and expands
the boundaries of consciousness and of sensorial and cognitive
experience.
'All of the poetic suggestions and all of the plastic possibilities'
presents Dalí as an omnivorous and visionary artist who used himself as
an object of study, and whose actions in the public arena, whether
calculated or improvised, made him an essential figure in the
sphere of contemporary representation. The exhibition focuses primarily
on his surrealist period. Special attention is devoted to his
paranoid-critical method, which he developed as a mechanism for the
transformation and subversion of reality, allowing the final
interpretation of a work to depend totally on the viewer. Dalí's works
in connection with the painting The Angelus(1857-59) by
Jean-François Millet – which the Catalan artist went so far as to
describe as the richest pictorial work in unconscious thoughts to have
ever existed – is where this method reached its highest expression.
The works on display, which begin with a selection of
the pieces that Dalí created at the beginning of his career and during his time
at the Student Residence of Madrid (including some of his early
self-portraits and drawings from the series Los Putrefactos– The Putrid), also
contain references to his mystical and nuclear stage (in which religious
and scientific themes predominate) and to some of his set design
projects (his collaborations with filmmakers such as Buñuel, Hitchcock
and Walt Disney, his stage designs for ballets and plays...). At the
same time, it takes a critical look at his role as an agitator of the
masses and as a media showman, it dedicates a specific section to his
autobiographical book The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (an
effective symbiosis of the Dalí the illustrator and Dalí the writer) and
it shows how from the 1970s to the end of his career his fascination with science and technology led him to explore new languages such as
stereoscopy and holography.
'Instead of stubbornly attempting to use surrealism for purposes of
subversion, it is necessary to try to make of surrealism something as
solid, complete and classic as the works of museums.' - Salvador Dali
This apocalyptic story unfolds in present
day Barcelona as a worldwide epidemic leaves streets emptied and people
trapped in homes, offices, shopping centers, etc. due to a morbid fear of simply
stepping outside. Indeed, the adverse reaction to going out is so strong that
individuals who do convulse and die after stepping only a few feet out the
door. The result: a world in total chaos.
Months
after the pandemic strikes, high-tech staff stuck in a powerless high-rise
office building are struggling to survive as food and water runs low. They work together in shifts to escape their prison by digging their
way into the tunnels of the metro, power and sewage systems below.
After successfully breaking through, two very different characters are suddenly thrown together and make an agreement to travel jointly through the bowels of the city as they head for their destinations.
Marc (Quim Gutiérrez), is a young
computer programmer who desperately wants to find the pregnant girlfriend
he argued with before leaving for work on the day the virus finally paralyzed the world. Enrique (Jose Coronado), is a cut-throat human resources consultant who
had been brought in to clean up the company by forcing Marc and others seen as under-performers to shape-up or ship-out. Exactly who or what Enrique is after is initially a mystery to Marc -- and to the audience.
We follow this odd-couple making their way through
dark and dingy passageways with surprises lurking around nearly every curve. As they push forward, they manage to get into a metro station, an apartment building, a mall, a skyscraper and a church, where they come across others who are on journeys like theirs, crowds huddling together in a semblance of community, gangs of criminals, families who are trying to stick together, as well as assorted animals -- big and small.
The movie does not focus on the how or the why of the pandemic. Through flashbacks we catch bits and pieces of news reports about ash from a volcano in Iceland and increasing cases of agoraphobia, panic and suicides, and as things get worse we hear reassurances from the authorities meant to calm the masses. Instead the directors explore how humanity might react to such a tragedy, which in the case of Marc is simply to try to reunite with a loved one, without giving much thought about what he might do after. Enrique is looking for something or someone, too, but in addition he shows signs of thinking ahead to what very basic things they will need to survive.
The special effects are excellent. The eerie scenes of a Barcelona abandoned by its inhabitants and increasingly reclaimed by nature brought to mind the London of 28 Weeks Later and New York of I Am Legend.
The performances are equally impressive. Veteran actor Jose Coronado blends the right amount of ruthlessness and humanity into the character of Enrique. Quim Gutierrez, who jumped from soap operas to the big screen a few years ago, portrays Marc with a sort of naivete and innocence that makes his journey believable.
All in all, a well-made and very entertaining film.
Infanta Cristina of Spain, Duchess of
Palma de Mallorca, the 47 year old daughter of King Juan
Carlos I, was formally named this week as a suspect in a case involving
accusations of fraudulently obtaining millions in public funds.
The
Duchess, who is seventh in line to the Spanish throne, served as a board
member on the non-profit Noos Institute, which was set up by her
husband, Duke Iñaki Urdangarin, a former Olympic athlete who is
accused of using this and other organizations to embezzle millions of
euros in taxpayer money. Urdangarin is also under investigation for
tax fraud involving money in offshore bank accounts and various
companies he owns, including one co-owned by his wife. The Duke
claims that she was unaware of any illegal activities.
While the Royal Family has tried to
distance itself from Urdangarin during the investigation, it has
become directly involved in the defense strategy of Princess
Cristina. After learning on Wednesday of the judge's decision to name
her as a suspect in the case of alleged irregularities, King Juan
Carlos personally asked Barcelona lawyer MiquelRoca Junyent to defend his youngest daughter. Roca
Junyent is a well known political figure from Spain's transition to
democracy and is considered one of the fathers of the country's 1978
Constitution.
On Thursday, Urdangarinis lawyer, Mario Pascual
Vives, confirmed that he would not be representing the Princess,
after having stated publicly the day before that “it would be an
honor” to do so. Pascual Vives visited with the Duke and Duchess
for for several hours yesterday. Barcelona's La Vanguarida newspaper
quoted him as describing the couple as “united in adversity,” and
once again denied rumors of a possible marital split.
After stressing that he is not the the
Princess' spokesperson, Pascual Vives reportedly described her to
journalists as being “concerned.”
Since news of the
court's decision broke earlier this week, the media has been camped
outside of the couple's €6 millon ($7.75 million) Barcelona home.
British newspaper The Guardian reported
that Urdangarin is “struggling to come up with his share of the
€8.1m bail set for him and his former business partner Diego
Torres, who both deny the allegations.”
This is only the latest in a series of
bad news for the Spanish Royal Family. Spain's El Mundo newspaper recently
claimed King Juan Carlos had millions inherited from his father
hidden away from tax authorities in Swiss bank accounts.
The 75 year-old King has also been in declining
health since April 2012, when reports emerged that in the middle of
Spain's recession he went on a not exactly politically correct
jet-setter elephant-hunting safari in Botswana, where he fell and
broke a hip. He subsequently had both hips replaced and last month he
was in hospital for back surgery.
As AFP summed it up this week, recent events
“have thrown the spotlight on the royal family's deluxe lifestyle
and opaque fortune as Spain grapples with a record unemployment rate
of 26 percent.”
In Lille France, a man originally from Santander Spain died in his home in 1997 and no one noticed until 2012. His remains were found in October 2012 and in December the city's authorities revealed who he was, how he died, and revealed a few other surprising facts, as well as several puzzling questions that remain unanswered.
Make sure to wear a shirt if you want to walk around in the stifling heat of Barcelona this summer, or you may pay dearly for it -- up to 300 euros!
Just in time for the tourist rush, the Spanish city known for its beaches and relaxed lifestyle has prohibited not only public nudity, but also the wearing of bathing suits away from swimming areas.
Beset by the hotelier and merchant lobby, who have protested for years that tourists walking around town with exposed torsos give Barcelona a bad image, the city council on Friday approved new legislation to prohibit and punish those who go down the street naked, bare-chested or in a bikini. The measure, which goes into effect next month, was approved just four weeks before municipal elections.
How the law will work
Complete nudity will only be allowed on Barcelona's officially recognized nude beach, Mar Bella, which is the only one in the city that has sand dunes, making it a somewhat secluded spot. Going shirtless or wearing swim-suits will be allowed only at pools, beaches and surrounding areas, such as the Paseo Maritimo stretching along the Mediterranean. Doing so anywhere else in the city, including while strolling along the emblematic Las Ramblas boulevard or having refreshments at a sidewalk cafe, could result in a fine larger than the 200 euros one has to pay for running a red light: between 300 and 500 euros for going naked, and 120 to 300 for not wearing a shirt. In practice, local police will not fine transgressors immediately: nudes and semi-nudes alike will first receive a warning and an invitation to cover up. Fines will only be given to those who refuse to cooperate or who are caught again for the same violation.
Barcelona's police officers will probably easily recognize nudity when they see it, but how will they determine semi-nudity and its appropriateness? What is the difference between a woman wearing a bikini bathing suit and one wearing a pair of skimpy shorts with a bikini halter top? How far can a shirtless guy walk from the beach before being considered indecent? What happens if while a police officer is fining a bikini-wearing, shirtless couple who wander into a neighborhood near a beach, a sweaty construction worker without a shirt carries a heavy object out of building-site onto the street?
Barcelona on the cutting edge
While at least two other Spanish municipalities have passed legislation banning nudity, none have gone so far as to outlaw semi-nudity. In 2008 Alicante established fines ranging from 751 to 1500 euros for pubic nudity. The city of Las Palmas published an edict in 2004 stating that "nudity, when practiced in places of public transit, practiced en masse, or improperly, is no longer natural and becomes exhibitionism forced on others." Since there was apparently no fine or other punishment prescribed, I'm not sure how nude-free Las Palmas is today. But Barcelona's streets may soon be free of bikinis, swimming trunks and a few tourists.
Maybe next the city council will spend some time and money cracking down on another worrisome group of people who tend to freely wander Barcelona's streets, as well as its beaches: pick-pockets and purse-snatchers.
EntreLobos (AmongWolves),
an excellent movie by Spanish director Gerardo Olivares, tells the
remarkable story of a poor country boy named Marcos, who at the age of
7 is handed over to his father's employer, a rich landowner, who in
turn delivers him to a life of labor with a hermitic goatherd in an
isolated valley. The old man, who lives in a cave, is unused to human
company and at first seems not very interested in having a live-in
apprentice. The boy, who was abused by his parents, is frightened and
equally aloof initially. Despite this, the shepherd begins teaching
Marcos how to herd the goats, as well as how to care for himself and how
to survive in the wilderness by trapping and fishing.
The two develop an affection for each other, and the boy befriends
the goatherd's animal companions: a ferret, a civet, and an owl.
Unfortunately, the goatherd soon becomes ill and dies, leaving Marcos to
fend for himself. For the next twelve years he has virtually no contact
with human beings, but does make additional animal friends - the wolves
of a nearby den.
This beautiful film is based on the incredible experiences of Marcos
Rodríguez Pantoja, who lived alone in the Sierra Morena mountains from
1953 to 1965, when he was captured by members of Spain's Guardia Civil
and returned to civilization at 19 years of age. But there's another
intriguing narrative connected to all of this: the story of how the
director found his hero.
According to a post on Olivares' blog,
he came across the story in January 2007, after reading in a newspaper
about a girl who spent twenty years lost in the Cambodian jungle. The
article contained the web address www.feralchildren.com,
a site with more accounts of children who grew up with animals. Being
in the story telling business, Olivares clicked on the link thinking it
might be a good place to find an interesting tale.
There
he found more than 100 documented cases of children who were either
confined by their parents, abandoned, or lost in the wild, but who lived
thanks to their instinct for survival. These reports included that of 7
year old Traian Caldaro, a Romanian boy who hid in the mountains of
Transylvania for three years in order to escape an abusive home, and the
story of Reverend Joseph Singh, a missionary in India who discovered
feral twin girls living with a pack of wolves in the jungle.
Olivares
was reading through the histories on the list when he noticed a Spanish
name, Marcos Pantoja, followed by the location Sierra Morena, Spain.
Sensing that a good story might be hiding behind these details, he
clicked over to a page full of information that he soon realized
contained the perfect ingredients for a movie script.
Olivares
says that when he finished reading the report, he put his head in his
hands, and hoped Pantoja was still alive. If the information was
correct, he would have been 62 years old.
He saw a
small black and white photo on the top right hand side of the page, and
below that a box with the words "Learn more about Marcos Pantoja at ..."
and the title of a book: "Marcos: Wild Child of the Sierra Morena." He
clicked and found the name of the author, Gabriel Janer Manila, the
publisher, Prometheus Books, and a link to purchase it. He ordered a
second-hand copy for $6 from a bookstore in Portland, Oregon, then typed
the name of Marcos Pantoja in Google, but nothing came up. Next he
tried entering the name of the book's author, and found him listed as a
professor of anthropology and sociology at the University of the
Balearic Islands. He sent the professor an email asking if they could
meet, and received a reply a few days later inviting Olivares to come to
his office in Palma de Mallorca.
The meeting with
Dr. Manila shored up the amazing details of the story, supported by the
anthropologist's doctoral thesis, the subsequently published book, and
the fact that British playwright Kevin Lewis had written a play called
Marcos, about the young man's social reintegration process.
Nevertheless,
as incredible as the tale was, it had seemed to have fallen into
oblivion. Not only was there not much of a trace on the web, but Dr.
Manila had not heard any news of Pantoja for 15 years, and thought he
might be dead. "Gerard, Marcos was a very fragile man who suffered much,
so do not be surprised if his life has ended tragically," he told the
director.
A few weeks later Olivares was sitting in
the office of the mayor of Añora, the town where Pantoja was born. The
mayor had never heard his story, and initially had difficulty believing
it. However, she did a little research and came up with his birth
certificate, the address of the house where he had been born and even a
family member, who told Olivares that the last time she had heard of her
cousin had been 13 years earlier. At that time he was living in a cave
near Alhaurín, in the Andalusian province of Malaga. She had gone to
look for him, but could not find him and was told by someone who worked
in a bar he frequented that he had not been seen around there in a
while.
Olivares worried that perhaps like the cousin
he had reached a dead end in his search – but he was not ready to give
up. He was planning to continue his research by visiting Alhaurín when
his producer José María Morales suggested hiring a private detective.
Apparently
Morales knew a woman who had recently hired an investigator to find out
if her husband was having an affair, and within 24 hours of doing so
was presented with photographs of him in a compromising situation.
Olivares thought, "Why not," called the detective, and gave him the
pertinent information. Later that same night he received a call telling
him not to bother going to Alhaurín because Pantoja was living in the
town of Orense, in the region of Galica - and here was his phone number.
Olivares says that he was so thrilled by the news that when he hung up
the phone his hands were shaking.
Here is a translation of his description of what happened when he called the number:
The phone rang several times before someone with a Galician accent
answered on the other end. I introduced myself and asked if Marcos, the
man who was isolated in the Sierra Morena for 12 years, lived there. The
man was silent for a few seconds before answering.
"Yes, he lives here, but what do you want?
I explained in detail that after discovering his story I had
spent almost a year looking for him, about Gabriel the anthropologist,
about visiting his house in Añora, and that there were family members
who wanted to know how he was
"I don't know if he will want to talk to you, but call back in ten minutes."
I didn't wait even three minutes before calling back, I was so anxious to talk to Marcos.
"Hellooooooooo!"
It was him, and on hearing his voice at last, I choked up. I felt a lump in my throat and could hardly speak.
"Hello paisano, I've spent nearly a year looking for you ... Finally I've found you."
Marcos let out a laugh.
"I've met some of your family who have also been trying to find you..."
He was silent and then replied:
"Well, my life has been hard..."
"I know. I'd like to meet you and talk at length."
"Then come around here, I live in... But how did you find me?"
"Tomorrow I can tell you the whole story in person, if it's not inconvenient"
"Tomorrow? Okay, no problem for me."
I hung up the phone and sat in silence, just smiling for a while. The next day, I was finally going to meet Marcos.
Ten months had passed since
Olivares had first read about the little Spanish boy who found himself
alone in the wild and survived thanks to the lessons of a destitute
goatherd and the friendship of wolves. Over the next two years Marcos
Rodríguez Pantoja cooperated with the director on the filming of his
fascinating story. He appears in the last scene of the movie, as himself
- happily playing with a wolf on a mountainside.
Until I moved to Spain and stumbled across some of Nat King Cole's Spanish language recordings, I had not known that he recorded songs other languages. In fact, he recorded three albums in Spanish: “Cole Español” (1958), “A Mis Amigos” (1959) and “More Cole Español” (1962) and at leas one additional song (“Tu Eres Tan Amable”- “You're So Nice”), which was posthumously released in 1983 on an album called album "Unreleased."
Although Spanish was the only other language he recorded entire albums in, he also recorded songs in Portuguese, Italian, French and at least one non-Romance language -- Japanese! And he did all of this without speaking anything but English! Instead he did what Tejana singer Selena did before she learned to speak Spanish – he memorized the songs phonetically.
His daughter Carole Cole said in an on-line chat with fans of her father that, “my father didn't actually speak Spanish. But...he recorded three albums in Spanish which he learned phonetically. He certainly had a deep admiration for Latin culture. And a number of friends from Mexico, Brazil and Cuba. In fact his manager, Caroles Gastel, was Cuban.”
She also agreed with a fan who claimed that Cole was one of the first English speaking singers to record in Spanish by adding, “this was another area in which I believe my father was a pioneer. You might be interested to know that in his travels throughout Latin America he was received with opened arms and an enormous amount of affection. For instance, when he first toured Brazil it seemed the population of Rio de Janeiro turned out en masse throwing roses at his feet to walk on, and he and my mother were asked to stay with the then-president of Brazil in the Brazilian palace. It's also interesting that he attempted to record in a number of other languages which needless to say, further endeared him to other cultures. He recorded Autumn Leaves in Japanese, which you can see in the documentary. I believe he recorded a tune here or there in Italian, French. And I imagine he would have done more in this area if he'd had the time.”
To me the history behind these recordings is a testament to Nat King Cole's ability to break down barriers. He obviously had to fight racism all of his life, and perhaps part of the reason he wanted to record in other languages was to extend that fight on some level. Two years before his first Spanish language recording he went to Cuba to perform at the Tropicana. He had wanted to stay at Havana's best hotel, the Hotel Nacional de Cuba , but was told it was fully booked. Although he discovered that he had been lied to and that in fact the Nacional had a White's only policy, he did not leave the island, but decided to honor his contract.
His engagement at the Tropicana ended up being so successful that he agreed to return the next year. In the mean time he applied himself to adding Spanish songs to his repertoire, with the help of Armando Romeu, a Cuban musician and arranger. After another successful appearance at the Tropicana in 1957, he again traveled to Havana in 1958 to record “Cole Español,” which was the first step towards a string of Spanish language hits – Acercate Más, Ansiedad, Aquellos Ojos Verdes, Perfidia, Quizás, Quizás, Quizás, etc.
The result was that long before the likes of Julio or Enrique Iglesias, Nat King Cole became the first truly "international" singing star. Today he is known in Spanish speaking countries as a singer of English and Spanish songs – and the Hotel Nacional de Cuba has a special “Nat King Cole Corner,” with a bust of the singer and a jukebox full of his songs. (See photo above.)
I've met many Spaniards who are familiar with these Spanish recordings, either because the songs were popular when they were young or because they discovered them through their parents or grandparents. One of my students remembers hearing the songs as a child and does a perfect imitation of Nat King Cole, including his pronounced gringo accent. Even I sometimes have to smile when I hear how strong his North American accent is – and I have a pretty strong one myself.
Despite the non-native accent, the songs are lovely, with lush arrangements and, of course, that beautiful, buttery baritone. As the title one of his songs goes, Fantástico!
Saludos amig@s,
Carloz
P.S. Enjoy the 3 songs from YouTube! / ¡Disfruta las 3 canciones desde YouTube!
