By the Zonagirante.com team @spinning zone

And although we sometimes think that music videos are at their worst, there are always artists who decide to contradict us and show us that there is still a living art here worthy of being seen and celebrated. Latin America has a lot to say and can express it with the best images. We have selected what we believe to be the best work in this field on the continent. Material comes from Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic (via New York), and Argentina. We have pop, hip hop, rock, punk, hardcore, fusion, techno, jazz, folk and other sound expressions that resonate on the screen.

Here are the ten pieces chosen for the occasion:

Maria Mazote – When time runs out

The smile. This clip achieves immediate audience identification. It's love, it's desire, it's fun, it's movement, it's dance, it's anxiety. In short, it's good old rock and roll, straight from Chile., with a song that provokes excitement from the first second, and editing that adds to the rhythm to reflect it on screen. And the main thing: She (her name is Lena Nisenson), a beautiful dancer who moves around the entire apartment, wearing all the clothes she can for the encounter, with an attitude that makes everyone fall in love and that perfectly supports the argument of the entire video. We insist, it is the image of rock and roll in its most direct expression, that's why we like it. By the way, Lena, several of us want to propose to you, where can we write to you?

Mayor ft. Ca7riel – Punky What

Let's move on to the violence. Here's a heavier beat, a hardcore attitude, a party, but be warned: Don't expect an innocent celebration. The whole atmosphere is underground, intimidating, it's only for the brave and the deranged. This is like Fight Club (Remember that classic?), but even darker and with a strong female presence. The choice of setting is perfect in its need to showcase decadence, and the lighting barely makes an effort to highlight the performers. This is total mayhem, just as the song demands. Not many will agree with the situation presented in the clip, but deep down more than one will wish they had experienced something similar on an extreme night in their life.

Jarina De Marco ft. Calacote & Mediopicky – Mass

Sex and food. The pleasure of curves, whether bodily or dietary. Dominican artist Jarina de Marco has always created striking, high-quality videos, and this one is no exception. Almost mimicking Renaissance paintings, the images unfold, showcasing curves of all kinds, presented suggestively and perfectly complementing the artist's purring voice. It's Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, enjoying cassava puree among New York's Caribbean community., Surrounded by her multiracial court. Even the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens would have been thrilled by these images, seeing so much flesh exposed, ready for gluttony and seduction.

Gil Cerezo – Love comes with hair

Acceptance. The singer from the renowned Monterrey-based group Kinky has decided to launch his solo career. And its promotional single is a colorful song that uniquely describes the everyday life of relationships between couples. «"Love comes with hair, with fluids and with drool, (...), with bad breath in the morning...", That's how the lyrics go, and although this might sound too raw to some, it describes, in its own way, the 90% of the time we share with our loved ones. We have to congratulate whoever had the idea to film the video in a motel, a place open to clandestine encounters, constant changing of sheets, the perpetual flow of cleaning staff, and the garish colors they constantly paint these kinds of places. And amidst the pastel tones of the location, Gil and his companions put on a fun choreography, which adds freshness to the whole plot. Impeccable edition.

Sonoras Mil – Oh, my stupid reason

Good humor. That's essential to understanding this band based in Pereira, in the heart of Colombia's coffee region. Theirs is a more local and Latin American take on what Rock and Roll means. Their music feeds on frenetic rhythms like salsa, cumbia and jungle psychedelia, and that fusion must be sustained with a good attitude, with a smile on your face. Musicians rarely know how to act, but in this case, the members of this group know how to fulfill their roles perfectly. The chosen spaces help to simulate a chaotic and hallucinatory feeling. and the decisions of the cinematography contribute even more to creating the dazzling atmosphere. With this material, Sonoras Mil confirms the good path that is already beginning to be accepted beyond its borders.

La Vida Boheme – Eaves [POMPEII]

Sadness, nostalgia. Many of the images, in black and white, appear reversed on our screen. It is the unease, compared to the vibrant past of a city that, according to the Venezuelan band La Vida Boheme, has fallen into decay. It is the disconsolate gaze from exile («"And that is our mistake, not learning from Pompeii."»), expressed with a tear rolling down her cheek. There seems to be no turning back. What works best in this video is the metaphor around which the whole idea revolves, the lost opportunity, the abandonment, the stiff and unmoving gaze of the dirty statues. And to top it all off, the song's abrupt ending. A moving clip.

The Machetes – Panic

Resistance, sir. Bogotá is a city adorned with graffiti and street proclamations that resist power. It is a capital city that is beautified by its rebelliousness. And in its most central streets, where the popular uprisings took place, is where this band of veteran musicians from the local scene wants to reflect, wearing their clothes as if they were living on April 9, 1948, when Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, the political leader closest to the masses in Colombian history, was assassinated. Alongside the illustrations on the walls and the texts against oppression, Los Machetes appear as images of Banksy and the like, acting as spokespeople for the day-to-day struggle of daily resistance. An impressive tribute to a city that deserves more fighting spirit in its blood.

Child Etc. ft. Ine Maguire – Colorá

Love again. Everything is simpler than we imagine. At least that's what we gather from this clip, where we seem to hear the saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade," or rather, "when work's tough, give it more carefree kisses." It's a simple premise: a laundromat, tons of laundry to clean, unbearable customers (fun fact: they're the same ones singing the song), and a gorgeous young couple who, to alleviate the boredom, decide to keep indulging each other with caresses, glances, and impromptu dances. Don't expect anything spectacular, not at all. It's a beautifully told story that expresses tenderness in the best possible way. Everything else is irrelevant.

Alex Anwandter – Now there are two of us.

Now, drama and dance. Let's turn up the percussion and talk about our desires, our estrangements, our impulses, while we dance in the desert. Just two protagonists, who relate erotically, who in every scene play at seducing each other, at reaffirming their appetite, their sexual identity, their nonchalance. Good photography, intense editing, a landscape that helps complete the plot, and the presence of an artist who receives more and more applause every day throughout the Spanish-speaking world. It is a great symbol of contemporary Chile, far from repression and prudishness and closer to the best musical expression of its scene.

Naphtha – Nafta II

The full story. We've saved our favorite video of the year for last. The first thing to appreciate is that it lasts as long as the new album by this Argentinian band. Each of the twelve segments in the production has its own visual moment, and everything is structured as a completely coherent narrative across all its chapters. They are clips with minimal camera movement, like snapshots that reflect a mood in one or a few frames. As we said in its individual review: A lens that bears witness to stillness, to the smallest joy, to boredom, to heartbreak, to wanting to flee without lifting a finger, to wanting to kiss without being noticed. It's a small film set in Buenos Aires, which captures the city's everyday beauty in its own unique way, with a soundtrack by an orchestra that combines jazz, trip hop, funk, blues, neo soul and other contemporary soundscapes. A great film and recording project and a bold idea that transforms into a jewel that will last for a long time.