Music discoveries and suggestions

As a result of visiting Spain many times, and learning the language (to a degree) I have been exposed to a lot of music new to my ears from the Spanish world. Although not all of it does not come from Spain (some from Latin America) I would not have had access to this music had I not had this interest in Spain. So I would like to nominate 5 artists that would get in my top 10. I have tried not to duplicate Madridman's list, so unfortunately no Ketama here!!
Chavela Vargas - incredible vocalist from Mexico
Joaquin Sabina - Madrileño originally from Buenos Aires. Brilliant lyrics, superb mixer of different music styles
Guillermo Portabales - A great source of traditional Cuban music. He is sadly missed.
Paco de Lucía - The master of the guitar
K'jarkas - Bolivian/Andes folk heroes.

I would like to hear other people's faves and suggestions. (It's a good way of getting exposure to new music)

Hola, filbert!

Thinking of Spanish music I absolutely have to add Mayte Martin, the flamenco singer. I know that cante flamenco is sometimes hard to bear (even as a dancer and aficionado it took me some time to like and appreciate it), but listen to this unique, intense voice. She has published three albums so far, one of them a Latin/Flamenco Jazz album, called "Tiempo de amar". I was lucky to hear her live last summer in Berlin - in one of these concerts where you catch yourself not to breathe too loud.
More cante flamenco? El Pele ("La fuente de lo jondo") for his impeccable mastering of cante jondo. His Siguiriya sends chills down my spine every time I listen to it.
Carmen Linares: Too many albums to count. Like many flamenco artists and like many good wines she gets even better with the years.

Estrella Morente: Young singer, daughter of accomplished cantaor Enrique Morente. I cannot wait for her next album. Her Christmas album "Calle del Aire" was in my CD-Player til well after Easter.

Enjoy!

Thank you, 'La Calma'
I certainly have to get a Carmen Linares CD at some point. I'm not always a fan of progress, but the internet (and particularly amazon.com) has made getting hold of World Music (for want of a better expression) so much easier.

Some of the artists I've been listening to:

Chambao (eclectic flamenco pop/soul)
Rosario (The ULTIMATE in flamenco-inspired latin music, she's even got some bossa nova in there and duets with Antonio Carmona of Ketama)
Then there are the Andalucia pop acts like Andy & Lucas and David de Maria who I just love!

"Latino beats" from the bar de lune label

Latin Groove - one of those Putamayo compilations
(I play it every time I have people over to my apartment! It's so good)

The Buena Vista Social Club

OK, none of those are from Spain - they are Latin American or Cuban but that sort of fits in your category for world/spanish speaking music, right? I love Amazon.com - every time I buy a CD I like, I try out one of their "people who bought this also bought..." suggestions and now I have a couple hundred CDs, somehow. I even look on Amazon.co.uk if there is no feedback on the American one!

FILBERT..... Joaquín Sabina, is as you say a "madrileño" but he is not originally from Argentina. He was born in Úbeda, Jaén, Andalucía, Spain.

HI!
One of the best (in my opinion) discoveries I've had is Silvia Amal. She's this great rapper. She incorporates a lot of stuff from r&b and soul. She also raps a lot about issues that affect the world such as globalization, aids, sexism and mysogony. If you like rap or hip hop, you'll like her.