Mark Pentleton

This will have to be quick – it’s about 2 minutes to midnight! I’ve had a really busy day so this is the first chance I’ve had to post today’s song. Amapola – meaning “poppy” in Spanish –  dates from 1924 and was written by Spanish composer Joseph LaCalle. It was recorded by the Jimmy [...]

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Today’s song was originally written in Spanish in 1931 by Gonzalo Roig and Agustin Rodriguez. I first heard the Spanish version of the song on Linda Ronstadt’s Frenesi album, and as a traditional bolero it has been performed by many Spanish-language singers from Trio Los Panchos to Julio Iglesias. An English version of the song, [...]

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I’m really struggling on a very flaky internet connection tonight, so I hope this works! Today’s song is the Gloria Estefan song Anything for you from 1987. It was also recorded in Spanish as No te olvidaré (I won’t forget you). I hope you enjoy this, if it posts correctly!
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Today’s song is a bit of a rarity. I don’t think it’s particularly well-known in the UK or the US – although I may be wrong! It was written by Lorenzo Barcelata in 1932 and was dedicated to the wife of the Mexican President Emilio Portes Gil. It has been used in a few films, [...]

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Wales yesterday and Mexico today… Bésame mucho was written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez. For those of you who like singing along to my performances, here are the lyrics with a translation below. It somehow sounds so much better in Spanish, especially with that imperfect subjunctive in the second line!
Bésame, bésame mucho,
Como si [...]

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