What Does Billy La Bufanda REALLY Mean? Spanish Class Songs, Ranked

Kids who take French, Latin, and Mandarin - let me tell you, you’re missing out. Sure, we sit in Spanish class rewriting preterite imperfect conjugations on a whiteboard, or watch Edpuzzle after Edpuzzle desperately trying to grasp the details of a quinceañera, but we have a note of magic infused into every one of our classes. We walk through the door of our Spanish classroom at 8am on a Monday morning, and our ears are met with the sounds of music. Educational tunes from hit bands such as “Rock-a-Lingua” or underground solo artist “Señor Jordan'' never fail to captivate our attention, and to get the whole class grooving! In all honesty, listening to songs in another language is such a good way to understand how the concepts you’re learning in class are applied in dialogue. And it’s easy to forget that we’re supposed to be learning when these tunes are blasting through the SmartBoard speakers. So, in WatchMojo intro fashion, this Lily Katz, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top five Spanish class music selections!

Starting off strong at number five, we’ve got “No Hago Mas Na”. The song is incredibly upbeat and perfect for a third block, post-lunch Spanish class when you’re full of energy, but be warned: too early in the morning, the instrumentals and vocals turn into a loud mush of reflexive verbs. The introduction repeats for a solid minute and a half into the song, and the melody is the same throughout, so it’s definitely not the best tune to have stuck in your head while trying to take “una prueba escuchar.” The incorporation of reflexive verbs into the lyrics is undoubtedly creative, however, and there’s something soothing about the riffs sung by the members of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. While this band may have been inducted into the International Music Hall of Fame, they take last place in my heart.

Coming in at number four is “Columbia; Mi Encanto”. This may be a personal problem, but whenever my teacher plays this song, all I can hear is Lin Manuel-Miranda singing his heart out, so that bumps it down a couple of places in my ranking. The ACTUAL singer is incredible, and the choruses are full of both vocal and instrumental energy. Despite being in accelerated Spanish, I don’t actually understand the rap before the final chorus, but it is still a straight banger. I can only imagine how hype it must be for people who actually speak Spanish! The way the volume and enthusiasm build from the first chorus through the last warms my little choir-kid heart. By the end of the final chorus, the entire cast seems to be chanting and cheering, which always makes me think that by the time Spanish class ends, maybe I’ll be jumping for joy over irregular preterite verbs, too! Despite literally being on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, this song still pales in comparison to…

“Irregular Preterite Cucaracha Song”! I hope that every Spanish student gets to experience the magic of having every irregular preterite verb ending completely memorized after listening to this tune. The melody is simple enough to be able to recall after a few listens, yet captivating enough to pay attention to even after your teacher has played the video on .75 speed for the third time in a row. The encouraging smiles that the singer gives between verses are unmatched, as are his guitar skills. Playing the same three chords over and over again must take a lot of skill. My only qualm with this piece is that the key is too low for most of my classmates to sing in the original octave, but the ending notes of each verse are so high that it’s impossible to sing it an octave up. If it weren’t for that unfortunate pitching issue, I would have to give this song the highest rating, as it saved my Spanish grade from complete demise. I hope Señor Jordan and his 217k subscribers aren’t too disappointed in their placement. Score sheets will be provided upon request, and I’m happy to talk more with Señor Jordan about the reasoning behind my rankings if needed.

I’d be remiss to ignore the inspiring message and infectious spirit behind “Vivir Mi Vida” and rank it any lower than second place. The song’s lyrics about finding joy in life and forgetting your troubles have the potential to reach every listener in a unique way. Well, everyone who pays enough attention in class to understand the lyrics, or decides to look them up later. It’s impossible to be in a bad mood while watching the music video that accompanies this song, in which entire streets are filled with people singing together and proudly waving their flags. I do wonder about the moments where the camera zooms in on random individuals: did they give their consent? Are they trying to look carefree and happy and quirky? Admittedly, those moments are a little off-putting. I don’t recall this song having any educational purpose, so it’s merely played for the sake of bringing joy to the students. Isn’t that such a wonderful sentiment? And so fitting with the message of the song, where we are asked to take in the moment, instead of allowing our sorrows and worries to take over. If only we could spend all of class soaking up the beauty of this song.

Before we announce our first place winner, I’d like to acknowledge a couple of honorable mentions. A discussion of Spanish class music wouldn’t be complete without a shout-out to the Rock-a-Lingua classic, the ear worm that ensures we’ll never forget the word for “scarf”, the slightly eerie anthem of our favorite winter accessory. The magical twist in “Billy La Bufanda” comes when each verse describes a different action that Billy took part in, and then drops a major bomb on the audience; Billy the scarf is a scarf! He didn’t go anywhere! I don’t know about you, but it gets me every time. Chills. And our second honorable mention is a throwback Thursday (or whatever day this is being released), if you will. According to my teacher, “Puedo Ir Al Baño” isn’t the way most Spanish-speaking people say “can I go to the bathroom”, but it is still blasted in elementary school classrooms to this day. You can hear the desperation grow in our protagonist’s voice as he goes from a teenage boy who wants a break from class to a man grappling with his fate, his cries of “es una en emergencia!” barely reaching his cruel, unfazed teacher. Talk about a story told through song!

And my top pick for Spanish class tunes is….drumroll please…El Mismo Sol! The moment I heard the light, yet fervent introductory notes of this song, I fell in love. The way the last word of each lyric in the verses repeats allows the listener to grasp the importance of every syllable. The plot of the music video has me a little confused, but the couple, their motorcycle, and their three (or maybe four) kids all seem full of bliss in their house on the mountains. The brief moments where the beat cuts out are so peaceful, and the moment the drums kick in again, my entire soul is elevated, and I, too, feel like jumping for joy on the mountainside. And my very minimal Spanish is actually sufficient enough for me to understand the lyrics! Alvaro Soler calls for all of us to gather and love one another, which is especially relevant during the first few minutes of Spanish class, when we are all inevitably buried in our phones and avoiding eye contact with one another. So let me take this moment to shout out my love for El Mismo Sol before I re-enter the classroom and become too embarrassed to jam out to the official winner of the Best Spanish Class Song Ever award. Alvaro Soler was nominated for and won multiple music awards, including the MTV Europe Music Awards and Latin American Music Awards, which can only bring us to the conclusion that the opinions of the Hilltopper staff are not only reflected in the international community, but are never wrong.

So, I implore everyone on this Earth to gather bajo el mismo sol (under the same sun) to give Alvero Soler and the rest of our nominees a round of applause, and listen to this phenomenal roundup of songs. Whether the difference between imperfect and preterite verbs finally clicks in your brain or Lin Manuel’s brilliant songwriting possesses you to return to your middle school Hamilton obsession, you’ll be glad you dove into my top picks for Spanish class music. But please note that this is not in any way a comprehensive list of the best music in Hispanic or Latiné culture (as is probably evident by the way my opinions are not reflected by any legitimate source), nor am I claiming to have any knowledge of the rich history and nuances of their music. I am merely trying to garner an appreciation for the immaculate music taste that our Spanish teachers here at Needham High School seem to have. So, do you agree with our picks? Drop us a like below if you agreed, and if you didn’t, keep it to yourself! Be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest articles!