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.
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