La, la, la, la la Bamba
This winter has been centuries long, so very cold and abundantly snowy, a true hibernation winter if you ask me!
I have been going through my closets and storage packing up, donating, recycling and tossing out a lot of unnecessary items and on a personal growth level - the “no longer relevant to me”, ideologies.
I feel the energy shifting.
We are coming out of the great shedding, wrapping up the year of the Snake (also a year nine = endings) and coming into the New Lunar year of bold, courageous movement - the year of the Fire Horse (also a year one = new beginnings). I don’t pretend to know what all that means. I’m just riding the energy wave.
I was up at 3:30 this morning as thoughts, ideas and words were filling my brain. It’s that creative Alpha brainwave stage I so often ignore - I did finally get up around 4:50 and started writing some of them down.
This used to be a practice for me, in the early 2010’s I read the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, and I implemented Morning Pages, this process has evolved for me through the years, and I have done it less in the last several years. But I will likely start again as I feel a deep sense of newness coming my way in 2026, and I will be pressing in.
Two connected themes filled my thoughts - the power of music to unify and the subtle covert (though sometimes completely overt) divisive messaging we have been fed the past 25ish years. (Probably longer - this is just when I started picking up on it).
As we were approaching the Super Bowl I am seeing and hearing things from people I know and don’t know - specifically regarding the halftime show not being in English.
Yes people have been arguing about this for months, and here is my two cents:
One:
Hasn’t the NFL been trying to be more internationally relevant?
Haven’t they been playing games overseas - in countries where people speak other languages?
Aren’t there hundreds of languages spoken in the world? - “Oh yeah”
Isn’t Spanish the number 2 most spoken language in the world? Yes. Yes it is.
Are there not 21 Spanish-speaking countries in the world (OK fine, 1 of them is a technically a territory belonging to the USA - yes, Puerto Rico where Bad Bunny is from)
Didn’t most USAians have the option to, and many chose to take Spanish in junior high or high school? You know - “Donde esta la biblioteca?”
Also - the US didn’t actually have an official language until March 1st of 2025. Yeah, really.
Two:
Haven’t Boomers, Gen X and Millennials already embraced and enjoyed plenty of music in other languages for decades? The newer generations have grown up with K-Pop and Reggaeton so they’re excused for the most part.
But us long and longer time adults - come on.
Here’s a sample of non English songs that were Billboard Hot 100 in the US.
1958 - Volare (Italian)
1963 - Sukiyaki (Japanese)
1963 - Dominique (French)
1966 - Guantanamera (Spanish) - older but this was when it made the Billboard charts
1974 - Eres Tu (Spanish)
1984 - 99 Luftballons (German)
1986 - Rock me Amadeus (German)
1987 - La Bamba (Spanish) - in 1958 Richie Valens made it known in the US
1991 - Saddness (French/Latin) - I mean how many of us were blasting Gregorian Chants? - Hello Enigma!
1996 - Macarena (Spanish) - you know you did the dance 😆
2012 - Gangnam Style (Korean) - you probably did this dance too! 😏
2017 - Despacito (Spanish)
And soooo many more, I chose these ones because I know them. 🙃
Who loves Opera? (✋🏼 me) - not very Englishy
And what about movie songs - remember the song “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire? So good!
And - I mean, have you heard Stromae? 🤩
In the last 15 years Korean Pop and Latin Reggaeton are all over US pop culture - and of the 39 non English songs that I found on the above mentioned Billboard chart - since 2018 - 13 of the songs include Bad Bunny.
You may not prefer the style of music, but to say “I can’t enjoy it because it’s not in English - is a lie you have chosen. It’s brainwashing - what changed for you? And why did you let it?
To say “I can’t believe I have to listen to this guy [AKA International SuperStar] who sings in Spanish” … 🙄 my biggest eye roll is coming at’cha.
All over the world we listen to music in languages we don’t understand because music is bigger than words, half of you don’t even know the words to English songs you like. I grew up listening not only to Spanish and English music but also Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, French, Portuguese, Italian, Gaelic music and others - I never freaked out that I couldn’t understand words - I just felt the music.
Music is a vibe. It’s energy. It speaks to our emotions, our soul. It’s deeper than verbal comprehension. It can elevate us, bring us to pure ecstasy and move us to tears. Music remains when dementia takes communication with words away. Music soothes, heals, aligns. Music is magic.
So I invite those of you who are worried about understanding the language to untangle your minds and hearts from the divisive rhetoric of the last two+ decades - in which the powers that be - have worked endlessly to pit people against each other based on race, language, religion, and whatever other nonsense. Remember that humans have more in common than not - and music is one of the most unifying things we have as humans (that and food!)
Allow the rhythm, the beats, the melodies, the musical textures to draw your smile, to bring you joy, let them move your body. Life is beautiful, meant to be enjoyed, stressing or ranting about a singer who sings in Spanish for 15 minutes on your TV is not worth your negative energy. Breathe into a new vibe. And if not - don’t watch, no one is making you - but it’s your loss. ✨❤️ WEPA! ❤️✨
Speaking of joy - Once upon a time I got to sing with a Salsa band in Charlottesville VA.
