Maná, Morat, Rawayana, Soda Stereo, Hombres G, Bacilos.
From jamming out with my mom in the car to screaming at the top of my lungs at a concert, these bands have been with me throughout my entire life, accompanying my milestones as I grew up. They have given me a way to connect with my culture and make sense of my experiences through music, which I believe to be the best way to look at life.
They are songs I remember listening to at 8 years old that I have in my “On Repeat” playlist on Spotify. As I meet more people with similar cultural backgrounds to mine, I realize that these bands play a big role in our upbringing and their music has grown with us in ways I can’t even begin to describe.
So, in no particular order, here are some of the Hispanic bands that have quite literally changed my life.
hombres g
To put you in context, 60% of the time I’m in the car with my mom, Hombres G’s music is playing. She talks about how this band was with her throughout high school and how their music was the go-to at her teenage parties. They have a variety of styles and themes, most revolving around love and friendships, and how these shape your life. From ballads to Spanish Rock, the Madrid-based band reached many corners of the globe with their danceable music. Some of the crowd favorites include:
Devuélveme a mi chica, is a song about getting your girl back, directed towards the guy who took her from you.
Te quiero, a sweet love song that any girl would like to have dedicated to her.
El ataque de las chicas cocodrilo, is about a guy and girl noticing each other at a party and the aftermath of the sparks flying.
Venezia, what it feels like to travel to Venice, turned to a song to scream with your best friends at 2 AM.
Their 80s-like sound has turned them into the go-to vintage band, and that sound keeps them alive to this day.
bacilos
Their easy-going and mostly acoustic style brings a warmth to the heart that’s very difficult to put to words. Bacilos’ music takes me back to singing with my friends, hugging and laughing, trying to match the pitch (we rarely did) of their beautiful, heartfelt songs. Several of their songs are guaranteed crowd pleasers, seeing how many Hispanic households would have Caraluna and Mi primer millón on repeat, or at least that was the case in my home my entire life. They have a way of expressing and defining love that makes whoever feels their music get butterflies in their stomach. Songs like Perderme Contigo, Tabaco y Chanel, and Pasos de gigantes make me want to fall in love more than ever before. Honorable mentions include Adicto a Ti and Por Hacerme el Bueno.
rawayana
This is possibly one of the concerts I’m most excited to attend this year. Rawayana is a Venezuelan band known for its groovy, hippie-like rhythms that combine reggae, funk, and soul in a way that automatically transports you to a Caribbean beach at sunset. I got into their music when I was around 12 years old, not really understanding what the lyrics meant but always obsessed with their music’s flow and funky vibes. As I’ve grown up, I’ve become a bigger fan of the image they project and have been a loyal listener. They recently released an album, ¿Quién trae las cornetas? (their 5th), and are in the midst of a world tour with upcoming concerts in Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.
While Morat (coming later in the list) is a band that defined me in high school, I can confidently say that Rawayana has become a bigger part of my life as I’ve transitioned to college. Aside from the new music they released, some of my forever favorites are High (feat. Apache), Sin Ti (feat. La Vida Bohème), Véngase I, and Algo Distinto. If you ever feel like you need a quick trip to the beach, some headphones, a sunny day, and Rawayana will make you feel like there’s sand between your toes (in the best way possible).
Soda Stereo
This is the band that reminds me of my dad. With similar vibes to Hombres G’s, Soda Stereo has music that transports me to the 90’s in Latin America. The Argentinian band has many hit songs, very popular among Gen X, and some of these have made their way to Millennials and Gen Z’s playlists. Soda Stereo, in my opinion, is one of the pioneer bands in the Spanish Rock genre, putting them up there next to Hombres G, Maná, Caramelos de Cianuro, and Los Enanitos Verdes. Their transgenerational hits include De Música Ligera, Persiana Americana, and Cuando Pase el Temblor.
maná
Another concert I can’t believe I’m going to. I think that more than Hombres G, Maná is the band that makes me connect with my parents on so many levels. It’s the way that they listened to their music back when they were 19 and 20 years old, and now that is the case for me. Maná, a very iconic Mexican band that has been around longer than I have lived, has broken cultural barriers by reaching every corner of Latin America and continuing to be relevant by touring and collaborating with this generation’s artists to re-record their music. Re-recordings like No Ha Parado De Llover (with Sebastián Yatra), Eres Mi Religión, and Rayando el Sol (feat. Pablo Alborán) have brought their old hits back to life. Maná’s very Mexican identity makes them stand out amongst other bands because of how they truly resonate with an entire country just by showing their national pride.
Their music is mostly rock, with some ballads here and there, and most themes revolve around love and the stories behind it. I have a lot of Maná favorites, but my top ones are Oye Mi Amor, Clavado en Un Bar (the BEST song to end a fun night out with my friends), En El Muelle de San Blas, Mi Verdad (feat. Shakira), Amor Clandestino, and De Pies A Cabeza. Listening to these songs makes me want to start a band with my friends just to be able to play Maná’s hits, but then I remember my musical ability is not nearly as great as theirs.
morat
I could write an entire article just on how much this band has impacted my life. It was the first time I ever felt like I was a fan of something; the first time I put alarms on my phone to listen to their songs the second they came out; the first time I cried at a concert just because I was there, hearing my favorite songs live. From that afternoon in late 2016 when I first heard one of their songs, I knew I was hooked on what the band transmitted. They kept me close to Colombia and my friends when I moved to the US and made me that much more excited when I saw them at a front-row concert in Dallas. My obsession with their music came to the point that they were my #1 artist on Spotify for 4 years in a row. Even though I feel like I’ve outgrown that chapter of my life, they still hold a very special place in my heart and I will always want to be the first to hear the masterpieces they release.
Morat’s music is a mix of folk and pop, where they describe love and heartbreak in ways that I never knew I could relate to. What once started as a mostly acoustic repertoire has, with time, turned into a combination of rock and pop in Spanish. As an old-school fan, this transition has not been easy, but I’m happy to see that they’ve stayed true to their roots by releasing an acoustic ballad every once in a while. No matter how much the band has changed, I will always go to their concerts, listen to their music, and remember the days when me and my friends would spend hours analyzing every lyric of every song of every album. Choosing a favorite song or album is nearly impossible, so instead I’ll share their albums in chronological order. Each one tells a different story and perspective on what it’s like to be in love, and each one describes the feelings according to different stages of life.
SI AYER FUERA HOY (2022)
¿A Dónde Vamos? (2021)
Balas Perdidas (Edición Especial) (2018)
Sobre El Amor Y Sus Efectos Secundarios… Y Unas Cuantas Cosas Más (Edición Especial) (2017)
Morat’s journey is just starting, and with how much they’ve grown in the last couple of years, I can only see a bright future ahead for these 4 Colombian guys. I can only hope that they never stop singing Mi Nuevo Vicio, their first-ever single.
I could talk about these 6 bands for hours, expressing how much they have impacted my life. For now, I’ll leave you with some great music recommendations, my take on music as a lifestyle, and the hope that you’ll grow to love these bands as much as I do. And it’s not just the fact that the music itself is amazing, but how these songs were with me in some of the most important moments of my life. It’s how music brings people together, regardless of age or culture, and makes you forget about life and just live it, even if it’s just for 3 or 4 minutes.
Here’s a link to a playlist with all the songs mentioned: Getting You Hooked on Hispanic Bands. Happy listening!