Sexteto Habanero.
La Historia de Son Cubano. The Roots of Salsa Vol.II
. Audiocassette. Folklyric 9054. These recordings were made from 1926 to 1931 when Nicolás Guillén would have been listening to the group. You can order this audiocassette by writing to Arhoolie Productions, Inc. 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito, CA 94530, or by calling them at (510) 525-7471. Be sure to request liner notes by John Santos which contain the lyrics in both English and Spanish, a short history of the group and a fantastic long explanation of what the
son
is.
El Son de Cuba
. Milan Latino, 1995. This CD is a compilation of different
son
artists performing different songs. Included here is a very easy to understand version of “La mujer de Antonio” by the Septeto Nacional Ignacio Pi–eiro which was performing in Havana in the 1920’s and 1930’s. I found this CD in a music store.
Guillén, Nicolás.
A Reading in Havana
. Audiocassette. Watershed Tapes, 1979. This is a 48 min. recording of Nicolás Guillén reading his poetry. You can order it by writing to The Watershed Foundation 6925 Willow St. N.W., Studio 201, Washington D.C. 20012, or by calling them at (202)722-9105 or (800) 366-9105.
Samaniego, Fabián A., et al.
¡Dime! Pasaporte al Mundo 21: Cuaderno de actividades para hispanohablantes
. Massachusetts: D.C. Heath, 1996. This workbook contains a worksheet on p.193 that corresponds with the textbook Unidad 4, Lección 1. It gives a short explanation on Cuban colloquialisms and then presents the students with the poem “Búcate plata” by Nicolás Guillén. The activity is to change the colloquialisms to formal Spanish, for example búcate=búscate. The worksheet could be altered for non-native speakers by giving them a choice of three words for each colloquialism.
Sugar Cane Alley
[
La Rue Cases NEgres
]. Dir. Euzhan Palcy. New Yorker Films Artwork, 1995. This is a wonderful movie to show students in its entirety (107 min.). It is about a very intelligent and poor young boy coming of age in Martinique in the early 1900’s. Racisim is one of the most prominent themes. The movie is in French with English subtitles. It is available at big video stores.
