Spanish (page 14)

Beginners’ Spanish I (SPAN 201): Listening to Music

Hudson Sanderson

For this Cultural Portfolio entry, to expand on my understanding of Spanish-speaking cultures and the language itself; I have chosen to listen to a few songs from the artist Marc Anthony (Marc Antonio Muñiz). His vocals and instrumentals caught my attention. The most engaging pieces I listened to were, “Vivir Mi Vida”, which translates to “to live my life”, “Flor Pálida”, which translates to “pale flower”, and “Tu Amor Me Hace Bien” which translates to “your love is good for me”. Marc Antonio Muñiz the renowned American singer and songwriter was born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents. His parents named him after Mexican singer Marco Antonio Muñiz. Under the guidance of his father, Felipe Muñiz, Marc Anthony from an early age began his musical education at home, where he learned to sing in both Spanish and English. Marc Anthony is best known for being the highest selling Salsa artist in the world and has over 108 “#1 Billboard hits”. 

Marc Anthony’s song “Vivir Mi Vida” was the song I found most engaging as I was able to recognize many of the words or infer from my SPAN 201 lectures. Some of the more prominent words that I recognized were the use of “bailar,” “vivir”, “vida”, “escuchar”, “encontrar” and “voy a”. The part of the song that I found easiest to recognize was him singing [voy a reír, voy a bailar – vivir mi vida] which I recognized to be “I’m going to laugh, I’m going to dance – live my life.” I noticed that while “vivir mi vida” translates directly to “to live my life,” the context of the lyrics shifts its meaning. In the lines where he says “voy a reír” and “voy a bailar”, the phrase “voy a” means “I’m going to”. So, the implied translation becomes “I’m going to laugh, I’m going to dance – [I’m going to] live my life.”  Furthermore, after referring to some English translations to translate some words I didn’t understand, I noticed that the use of “voy a” was informal when spoken and actually spoken as “I’m gonna” instead of the direct translation of “I’m going to” or “to go”. This showed me an application of informal word usage in Spanish like mentioned in one of my SPAN 201 lectures. I struggled with a few lines when I first listened to the song, particularly [¿Y para qué llorar? ¿Pa’ qué? – Si duele una pena, se olvida¿ – Y para qué sufrir? ¿Pa’ qué? – Si así es la vida, hay que vivirla, la la le]. By referring to the Spanish lyrics and breaking down words like “lorra” (to cry), “olvida” (to forget), “duele” (to hurt), and “pena” (sorrow), I was able to grasp their meanings as a whole more clearly. Reading these words and lyrics as he sang them helped me understand the song better as it progressed. In connection to SPAN 201, I also noticed a few true cognates like we had discussed in class. A few of the true cognates were “momento”, which is moment, “destino” which is destiny and “silencio” which is silence. Beyond the specific lyrics, I would highlight the soulful singing and instrumentals that I am not used to hearing and how they harmonized to create this type of music that makes you feel lively and, in a sense, more enjoyable to listen to then many English songs.

 To conclude, the Spanish music genres like Salsa Music, Latin Pop, Reggaeton, from artist like Marc Anthony and Bad Bunny, provide a diverse and vibrant range of styles and rhythms that are often celebrated for connecting people. From listening to these incredible songs, I would suggest that Marc Anthony and many other artists in the Spanish music scene present the singers true emotions and with the use of key instrumental, help create engaging music that transcends cultures and language barriers.

References

Marc Anthony – Vivir Mi Vida Lyrics English and Spanish – Translation & Meaning – Letras en ingles. 2017 [cited 2024 Oct 12]. Available from:

Marc Anthony – Vivir Mi Vida (Audio). 2013 [cited 2024 Oct 12]. Available from:

Marc Anthony – Flor Pálida (Official Video). 2014 [cited 2024 Oct 12]. Available from:

Marc Anthony – Tu Amor Me Hace Bien (Audio). 2014 [cited 2024 Oct 12]. Available from:

Wikimedia Foundation. (2024, September 21). Marc Anthony. Wikipedia.”