“Let’s be honest, on Valentine’s Day, not everyone is celebrating a day of love, but you can never go wrong with getting in your feelings here and there.”

Last year at Pueblo, we launched the Amor Playlist, a 33-song playlist dedicated to love songs in the form of cumbias, corridos, boleros and everything in between. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we are continuing our celebration of love songs that we enjoy in our culture. 

This year, we celebrated it online and in person. You can listen along to our Amor Playlist: Volume 2 on Spotify.

Richie Requena, Managing Editor at Pueblo

I am very much a momma’s boy and when I think about the love my mom gives me, it’s not because she gives me mounds of cash. It’s from schooling me in the kitchen — I learned how to dance in that kitchen, how to cook in that kitchen and how to be a man in that kitchen. Como dice la canción, “No tengo dinero, ni nada que dar. Lo único que tengo es amor para amar.” That love goes a long way and I am so happy that I get to love people the way that my mom loves me. 

Sara Luz Torres, Creative Editor at Pueblo

El amor can be exciting and incredibly confusing. These three songs prove to me that regardless of thrill and confusion, love is a sure thing. 

In “Alma Mia” (originally written by Maria Grever), Natalia’s lustrous voice makes me yearn for a simple love, “Un alma que embriagarse con suave aliento.” The lyrics give the listener a lover that shares the same soul. “Un alma que al mirarme, sin decir nada.” Who would desire a lover with a soul that just knows you by just looking at you? The most beautiful part of this song is that, even though the melodic guitar makes you feel as if you are in love, the lyrics ask the question, “What if I met a soul like mine?” Natalia always gets me with her covers and her voice always makes me feel like I am in love. 

León Larregui’s “Brillas” is a song about a breakup. What is so heart-wrenching about this song is that although the couple comes to terms with not being together at this moment in time, it leaves a door open for the couple to be together in the future. “Nos dimos todo lo que se nos dio, Nos dimos todo eso y mucho más, Para después reconocernos otra vez.” León es un romántico, which makes him an amazing front man for the band Zoé. 

Zoé’s entire MTV Unplugged Música De Fondo (Reissue/Live) album is a dream, but my longtime favorite is “Soñe.” This song reminds me of the flashbacks you get when you are trying to forget someone you were beginning to fall in love with. Though it is a grieving process — trying to forget a love that never flourished — there is something beautiful in bottling up small and precious moments.The words of the chorus melt into my ears, “Todo el tiempo estoy pensando en ti, En el brillo del sol en un rincón del cielo, Todo el tiempo estoy pensando en ti, En el eco del mar que retumba en tus ojos, soñé.” The acoustic and accompanying vocals in this live and unplugged version are top tier — I refuse to listen to this song any other way. 

Jocelyn Martínez-Rosales, News Editor at Pueblo

The songs I chose for this year’s Valentine’s Day playlist come from the Spanish Indie section of my Apple Music. They’re the songs that combine my first language with young modern love but are still reminiscent of the oldies we Latino kids grew up listening to. My favorite of the four that I chose is “Nadie Va A Pensar En Ti Mejor Que Yo” by Ed Maverick. He’s an amazing performer from Mexico City who I had the chance to see last summer at Schubas Tavern in Lakeview. His acoustic song with lyrics like, “Vamos por caguamas y se disfrutan mejor,” not only emote the butterflies you feel when you’re drinking a Mexican beer with your favorite person but it also reminds me of my grandma. She’s notorious for buying caguamas or 40’s from the local corner store. 

Gisselle Bahena, Social Media Editor at Pueblo

Love songs, in my opinion, can give both feelings of love and heartbreak. Let’s be honest, on Valentine’s Day, not everyone is celebrating a day of love, but you can never go wrong with getting in your feelings here and there, especially on Valentine’s Day. The songs I chose are a mix of love songs and heartbreak songs that I personally enjoy listening to depending on what mood I am in. I would say that out of the songs I chose, the one that has the most meaning to me is “Todo Cambio” by Camila. I was introduced to this song by my parents and it always reminds me of them. My parents aren’t ones to show too much physical love and sometimes it makes me forget that they are in love and are committed to each other. But when this song comes on they turn into a lovey dovey teenage couple. So it’s always nice to see my parents forget their parental role and just enjoy being in love with each other’s company. This song constantly reminds me of the love my parents have for each other — a love I wish to find in the future.

Kenneth Balcarcel, Translator at Pueblo

Growing up and traveling through Latin America has taught me that Spanish is expressive. We love to sing about broken hearts or how beautiful it is to fall in love. For many of us, love is about feeling at home, feeling warm and appreciated. Some of us who migrated feel love when we eat an arepa or a tamal.  But music can make us jump back to any possible emotion. Music makes us remember our family, how they sang old boleros or our first concert with our friends. Music is a universal love language that makes our hearts dance.

The Amor Playlist 

Richie

No tengo dinero – Juan Gabriel (3:04)

Sabor a mi – Los Panchos (2:47)

Cien años – Pedro Infante  (3:31)

Dos Gardenia – Buena Vista Social Club (3:02)

Sara Luz

Alma Mia – Natalia Lafourcade ft. Los Macorinos (4:19)

Brillas – León Larregui (3:46)

Soñe (Live) – Zoé (3:46)

Jocelyn

Morena Mia – Girl Ultra

Quedate – Bratty 

Nadie Va A Pensar En Ti Mejor Que Yo – Ed Maverick

Carino – The Marias

Gisselle

Todo Cambio – Camila (3:06)

La Cancion – JBalvin y Bad Bunny (4:04)

Dreaming of You – Selena (5:15)

Kenneth G.B.

Guatemala – Swae Lee (04:16)

Tormenta – Making Movies, las Cafeteras (04:35)

Kiss of Fire – Gaby Moreno Hugh Laurie (3:27)

Rio – Ishto Jueves (3:49)

Or Calaveritas – Ana Tijoux, Celso Piña (04:20)

Header Image by Samarah Nasir