After Franco’s death, Spain explored new styles of music. Rock n’ roll and pop were introduced, taking advantage of newfound freedom due to his absence.
Joaquin Sabina is one of Spain’s best-known cantautores, known for his songs about love and heartache. His powerful, haunting voice draws listeners in with its charm.
Abraham Mateo
Abraham Mateo is an award-winning Spanish singer-songwriter with an eclectic style fusing rap, reggaeton, pop and R&B. His music can be used to practice Spanish listening skills; however, its fast rhythms might present challenges if you’re new to Spanish listening!
He is a viral star with a massive social media following and multiple albums released under his name, winning several awards including three nominations at Premios Juventud.
Lola Flores
Lola Flores – as she was known- began singing and dancing professionally at Jerez de la Frontera bars at age 10. Over time she embarked on many musical tours and appeared in films like Carmen Sevilla or Paquita Rico.
Her iconic appearance, remarkable career and sometimes turbulent personal life cemented her as an icon. To honor this remarkable woman from Jerez de la Frontera has dedicated a museum that revisits her remarkable career.
Antonio Flores
Flores is an esteemed flamenco dancer and singer, having participated in many theater and movie productions over his long career. Additionally, he is well known as an award-winning composer.
He’s become one of the most celebrated Spanish artists ever. Selling millions of albums worldwide and popularizing Spanish music worldwide are hallmarks of success for any artist; not just singer but actor as well. Critics and fans alike have recognized his outstanding career.
Joan Manuel Serrat i Teresa
Joan Manuel Serrat i Teresa is one of Spain’s most esteemed musicians, having released more than 50 albums and becoming an expert at folk, rumba catalana and ballads. His lyrics often express cultural commentary or political critique.
In 1968 he was selected to represent Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest with “La, la, la”. But his insistence on singing it in Catalan led Franco’s regime to quickly replace him with Massiel as soon as they realized what was happening.
José Iglesias
Ten years ago, at age 18, Iglesias left Cuba to pursue his dream of playing major league baseball in Boston, Detroit, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Los Angeles Angels and Colorado. Since then he has donned the uniforms of all these clubs and more!
On Tuesday, Iglesias signed a minor-league contract with San Diego but will likely seek out another organization with more direct pathways into the big leagues. For now, however, he will sit on San Diego’s bench in Wednesday’s season finale against LA.
Teresa Berganza
Teresa Berganza was one of the foremost mezzo-sopranos of her generation, known for both technical virtuosity and musical intelligence. She played an essential part in reviving Rossini operas that had fallen out of favor as well as reinstating many leading roles to the mezzo register.
She was known for singing French and Italian art songs as well as Spanish zarzuelas and arias. Awarded the 1991 Prince of Asturias Award, she retired from performing onstage in 2008 but continues teaching at Madrid conservatory.
Jose Marin
An exceptional disc of 17th-century Spanish composer Marin’s Tonos Humanos secular songs was met with great acclaim nearly five years ago, but now is back as an SACD with recoding for 96kHz/24-bit audio and outstanding performances.
His life reads like an epic picaresque (combining highway robbery, murder, composition with church choir duties as cantor and singer). Jail time, exile and even being sent to the galleys all played an integral part of his story but ultimately led him back down an exemplary path of righteousness.
Manu Chao
Manu Chao is an internationally-acclaimed musical artist. His music falls into both reggae and world music genres, while also featuring elements of punk music, Latin rhythms and galician singing styles. Manu sings his songs in French, Spanish, English, Italian Arabic Galician – sometimes all within one song!
Mano Negra found great success, particularly in Europe. Following this, he began a solo career, with albums Clandestino, Proxima Estacion: Esperanza and La Radiolina garnering critical acclaim.
José Rey
Alvaro Soler, one of our younger artists on this list, began his musical journey with a hit single in 2011. Since then he has gone on to top charts in countries such as Poland and Italy.
Joaquin Sabina is another prominent Spanish cantautore. His unique blend of poetry and music brings familiar themes of love and heartbreak into his lyrics; while his unique croaky voice adds an additional layer of charm.