15. TINO EL PINGÜINO / “VE NOMAS” / DIR. DANIEL M. TORRES [MEX]
It seems like 2013 was the year for voodoo magic, with everyone from Jarina de Marco to Juana Molina attempting to lure us into other worlds. Tino El Pingüino-–Mexico City’s revelation emcee—isn’t necessarily trying to lure us anywhere in his video for “Ve Nomás.” He’s trying to go there himself. For that, he enlists the help of two women, which he wakes up from the altar with a special code embedded in a tattoo. They search high and low, with maps and telescopes, radioing in for a sign. The Spanish guitar sample and the beats in the song are so damn catchy, that you want to follow them anywhere. This video—with its combination of humor, wit, fashion, sadness, and innocence—is a beast to be reckoned with. – Amaya García
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14. JUANA MOLINA / “ERAS” / DIR. MARIO CAPORALI [ARG]
Nobody can deny Juana Molina’s brilliance when it comes to creating weird, dissonant music that’s as eerie and danceable as it is heart-meltingly sweet. This also applies to the video for the second single off her new album, Wed 21, “Eras.” It has the quality of a horror show, with Molina’s sneaky title character (the girl with a bowling ball for a face) bewitching an army of dinner guests with potions and eggs, inducing them into a trance-like dancing state until they fall asleep. The goal: to get a new button for her doll. Yet, as soon as the dancing starts, the horror dissipates into cuteness and it seems like all is right with the world. The funny thing is that Molina’s music also holds that type of power; the syncopation and clashing sounds in her songs make us dance and forget all our problems. For that, she deserves to be on every list forever. – Amaya García
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13. ORQUESTA EL MACABEO / “LLUVIA CON SOL” / DIR. GUILLERMO GOMEZ ALVAREZ [P.R.]
Orquesta El Macabeo are not your typical salsa band, so you shouldn’t expect a typical salsa video from them. These “rockeros” who play salsa (as they define themselves) know how to avoid the traps of the genre’s common places while simultaneously paying homage to salsa’s golden age. “Lluvia con Sol” is a great example of this. Paired with a beautifully arranged song, the video masterfully employs vintage footage from Puerto Rican tourism advertisements aimed at gringos, taking it completely out of context, creating witty and hilarious contrasts. On top of the borrowed images, the director manages to make the band members travel back in time and sneak into parts of the film, sometimes in obvious ways, sometimes not so much. Clever. – Juan Data
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12. CAFE TACVBA / “OLITA DE ALTAMAR” / DIR. GUSTAVO DE LA TORRE & RUBEN ALBARRAN [MEX]
It begins with an idyllic landscape, an elevated desert land in front of an endless ocean. If you think about it too much, standing on that edge is as beautiful as it is frightening. That’s most of what you’ll see in Café Tacvba’s inspiring video for “Olita de Altamar”,” which features the band staring at the vast expanse, doing what they do best alongside Qhantati Ururi de Conima and Rubén Albarrán’s newly hatched alter ego: Zopilote de alas blancas y cabeza negra. Filmed in the paradisiacal Reserva de Paracas in Ica, Perú, the video feels like Zopilote taking us on a spiritual journey of self discovery and liberation. What feels like it should be private is translated into an astounding audiovisual for the world to share. Thank you Tacvbos for letting us in on that journey. – Amaya García
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11. MUSTAFA YODA / “EL HOMBRE BUENO QUE FUE AL INFIERNO” / DIR. NAZARENO ALBA & CELESTE LOIS [ARG]
This Argentine rapper had already raised the bar for hip-hop video making with his 2008 epic debut, “El Niño.” Breaking away from all the genre’s clichés—MCs worrying about twerking booties and bottle service at the VIP—Mustafá Yoda proves once again that rap is simply a vehicle that can be used to transport conscious message in an artful way, without losing entertainment value.
“El hombre bueno…” plays like a short movie set somewhere in the IXX century. The storyline is not very clear but, when listening carefully to the lyrics, we can infer that it’s about these different (and apparently unrelated) characters committing horribly evil acts while feeling righteous about it. It’s about crossing that thin line. – Juan Data
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