Whose fault was it anyway?

Javier Solis was a popular Mexican singer during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the first to sing "Bolero-Ranchero" which combines guitars, trumpets and violins, which led him to be named "the king of bolero-rancheras." Solis was also an actor, but singing was his forte. He died at the age of 34 due to illnes, but his songs are still listened to and remade by many artists.

One of his popular songs is "Echame a mi la culpa" or "Blame me." The song is about a man whose lover broke up with him, but still wants her to be happy somewhere else. He wants her to acknowledge that she messed up in the relationship, but if someone else asks her why are they not together, he is asking her to lie and say it was his fault and that he was not a good partner to her.



This songs has been covered by many other artists, one of them being Alicia Villareal. Villareal is a Mexican singer, Latin Grammy award winner. Her songs are more rancheras than boleros which means that her songs include a lot more guitars and mariachi.

She has done many covers for other artists, including Javier Solis. Her version of "Echame a mi la culpa" the same as Solis' but in her version Villareal sounds like she is crying as she is singing, and you can hear the pain she feels in singing this song.





Solis also shows the pain, but his song mostly accentuates his great voice and is what the listener focuses more on. Both songs are great though and it goes well with both artists.

To drink coffee, or lay in the beach

"Under the Boardwalk" was first released in 1964 by The Drifters. It is a song about a man talking about being at the beach with his loved one, doing romantic things. He describes the different things in the beach, the hot dogs, the people, the sun, etc. It is a happy song, perhaps reminiscing of a summer love. The introductory music is a frog-like sound that carries on in the song.



Compare this song to "Fue en un cafe" by Los Apson Boys who formed as a group in the 1960s and released their song in the late 60s. The music is the same of that of The Drifters song; the difference is in the lyrics. The story of Los Apson is about a sad moment of a man's life when he feels the need to break up with his girlfriend in a coffee shop but feels bad for making her cry. Throughout the song he tries to convince himself that it is the right thing to do since she cheated on him once.



As oppose to The Drifters laying with their loved one under a blanket, Los Apson Boys are sitting in a coffee shop with their loved one, breaking up, making it a hard moment for both parties. Both are still beautiful songs, depending how you are feeling.

One bartender, two audiences

Rock en español or rocanrol (Spanish rock) is a very popular genre in Mexico, mainly with “chilangos,” or those who live in Mexico City.

Just like rock in the United States, it is music that allows youngsters to rebel in all forms.
One famous rocanrol group has been together for over 40 years. They are one of the first groups that started this genre in Mexico. The group is called El Tri.

El Tri (click in right picture) continues to release new songs, but recently, one of its songs was remade into cumbia.
“Oye Cantinero” (Hey bartender) is about a man who asks the bartender to give him a drink because he needs to forget a woman who has left him for another man.

It is a common theme of heartbreak and betrayal, but there is a catch to this song. As people continue to listen, they realize that the person asking for a drink is actually a patient at a mental hospital and the bartender is a doctor of that hospital. Then listeners realize the scene is a hallucination.

La Luz Roja de San Marcos (click on left picture) is a group from Mexico that specializes in cumbia music. Cumbia is a style of music originally from Colombia but has spread out to all Latin America. The group has taken a rock song into a cumbia song that more people are able to dance to.

“Oye cantinero” in cumbia allows people to dance to the song whereas El Tri’s version is better to listen to.

The videos are also different. El Tri provides a much more elaborate production with different customs and many dancers and extras. La Luz Roja’s video looks more like a rookie director’s job with singers who look awkward in a music video and don’t know how to act.

Both songs are really good though and now the song has reached to different audiences.

Last Kiss... not really

The music from the United States has influenced music in Mexico for more that 40 years.
One of the songs that has been re-recorded by different artists is "The Last Kiss." The song was written by Wayne Cochran in 1962 and recorded by him. Years later other artists recorded the song, including J Frank and the Cavaliers and Pearl Jam.

The song was also recorded in Spanish by groups such as Los Doltons, and Alci Acosta.

The story is the same in all the songs, English and Spanish. A man is driving fast with his girlfriend by his side. He was not able to see the road so he crashes. He comes out of the accident OK, but his girlfriend dies, asking her boyfriend for one last kiss. Now the man is on a mission to be a good person so he can go to heaven, where his dearest has gone.

It has a good message of being careful when driven, or your passenger will die, so why not redo this song over and over and over, to spread the word?

Here is the original version by Wayne Cochran:



Here are a few examples of the different versions:
Pearl Jam


Los Doltons


Alci Acosta

I rather be dead

The song "Antes muerta que sencilla” meaning "I rather be dead than plain” was first sung by Maria Isabel in 2004, when she was 9 years old.

Maria Isabel is from Spain, giving her songs that Spanish accent and, as demonstrated in this song, she incorporates flamenco, which is a typical Spanish influence.

Maria Isabel sings of looking up to the style of movie stars and other celebrities. It is a very understanding point of view of an easily influenced girl who likes to play dress up.

Los Horoscopos de Durango is a duranguense group that many times takes from other known artists’ songs and changes the song to fit the style of the genre they sing to.

Here, the group takes a song from a 9 year-old and make it a serious song that talks about the needs for women to always look attractive, and rather be dead than not look glamorous. In most of the scenes the women interpreting this song look very serious and in serious need of fun, as oppose to Maria Isabel who uses her youth to live up the song and makes it fun.

Los Horoscopos make a small recognition to the origin of the song in the beginning where they sample the sound of flamenco music.

Maria Isabel

Los Horoscopos de Durango

Modugno and Clave... crying men

Many songs are developed and reinvented over and over, in different languages, with different lyrics and sometimes a different style.

Here I would like to give you the original song and the other version. I’m only going to focus on Spanish songs though because I think I know enough older songs than in English.

Lets take this song called “Piange il telefono” (Cries the phone (?)) by Domenico Modugno who recorded the song with his a little girl Francesca Guadagno, in 1973.



Lyrics: http://www.italianissima.net/testi/piangeil.htm

Guadagno, now works as a voice over for movies translated from English to Italian.

The song was re-recorded in 1981 by an Argentinean singer King Clave titling the song “Mi Corazon Lloro” (My heart cries). Ignore the picture in the video, the man has nothing to do with the song.



Lyrics: http://www.planetadeletras.com/index.php?m=s&lid=101945

The story of the song is the same basic one: a man calls a woman and a little boy or girl answers the phone instead. The singer is the estranged father of the child that answers and has a small conversation while the caller waits for the woman to answer the phone, but never does. The caller cries when he hears the voice of his child.
Great song, fill with emotion no matter what language... if you understand it.