Reggaeton is a popular style of Latin urban music that had its origins in Puerto Rico during the early 1990s. It was influenced by dancehall music and American hip-hop as well as Caribbean music. This type of music features both rapping and singing mainly in Spanish. Reggaeton features a special dembow rhythm beat first produced in Jamaica in the 1980s and the […]
Read more 08 Feb 2020
Cultural Corner: Reggaeton
05 Dec 2017
Biography: Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was born on April 16, 1971 in Texas. She is known as the queen of Tejano music, which is a combination of music from Texas and Mexico and is very popular among the Mexican-American populations of southern and central Texas.
Read more 14 Mar 2016
Grammar Tips – What are Idioms?
It seems that nothing frustrates learners of a foreign language more than idioms. Idioms are those phrases that cannot be translated directly from one language to another. They often involve turns of phrase, animals, colors or emotions in strange combinations!
Read more 05 Sep 2012
Cultural Corner: The Tango
The tango is an evocative dance that has its origins in 19th century Argentina. It developed on the riverside, or ribera, of the Riachuelo River in Buenos Aires in the early 1880s. At the time, Buenos Aires was a city in expansion due to large numbers of immigrants coming from Europe in search of work. The majority of the new immigrants were single men, largely sailors and artisans by profession. To mitigate their loneliness many frequented brothels or burdeles with live music for entertainment. As the atmosphere was somewhat melancholy, undertones of longing, loss and separation are present in the music. The dance that developed is a slower, more intense and restrained version of the milonga, a dance that had previously been popular in the same circles, and features very intricate footwork and partnering.
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