Te Dejo Madrid

“I am leaving Madrid” sings the Columbian Singer Shakira. The video below has a bullfighting theme to it. The Spanish “El Juli” sued Shakira for $5 million for using scenes of one of his performances without his permission. As a visitor to Spain, it is sometimes difficult to understand how even in modern times, that …

Should I stay or should I go (2).

That is the dilemma facing most of us at this time.  The UK government is yet to decide whether to change the May 17th for international travel and even then the list of destinations that UK residents can travel to is likely to be limited.  So we are faced with 1982 eternal dilemma of staying …

Nostalgia de Milan

Giovanni D’Anzi is the writer of the song that bares the title “Nostalgia de Milan”. He was born in Milan in 1906 and wrote many songs relating to Milan. He is most famous for this song ” O mia bela Madonina“. Written in 1934 as a counter to the songs of the Napolean immigrants and …

Budapest

“My house in Budapest My, my hidden treasure chest”. Many of us are familiar with the opening lyrics of the George Ezra song “Budapest”. Ironically he had not been to Budapest when he wrote the song, he got drunk and missed his train. However once you start to travel, you should not miss out on …

Guantanamera

Guantanamera is probably the most iconic Cuban song. Based on a poem written by the Cuban poet José Martí the title literally means “a woman from the Guantánamo area”.  It was made famous outside Cuba in 1963 by The Sandpipers. If you watched the video above that should be enough to get you on the …

On a Little Street in Singapore

Written 100 years ago, many of us will know this song from Glenn Miller, Bob Dylan or Manhattan Transfer. Today, it’s the attraction of those “Little Streets” that draw us to this Island State. Those “Little Streets” are the result of Singapore’s multi-cultural, colonial and wartime past and make it a destination in its own …