Singing in Spanish #4

Today's song - Mucho Corazon
Is a Bolero written and popularized by Benny Moore,
Go here for the video to listen to while you read this post

There is a general consensus
That the first Latin American Bolero
Was popularized in 1895
By Cuban troubador José Pepe Sánchez
With his song Tristeza.
The Bolero contains two phrases of sixteen bars,
A guitar instrumental between them,
The words are emotionally romantic,
Of love,
Adoration,
Lament,
Unrequited love,
Sadness.

The striking differences

Singing in Spanish #3

Perfume de Gardenias,
There's an incredibly rich story behind this song,
Or more accurately stated, by it's composer,
Rafael Hernández Marín of Aguadilla,
Puerto Rico 1892 - 1965.
I suggest going to the song to listen while you read this post.



At age 12 Rafael studied music in San Juan
His teachers, Jose Ruellan Lequenica and Jesus Figueroa.
His instruments, clarinet, violin, piano, guitar and tuba
But it was his learning to compose music
That would bring him to the forefront of the world music scene.
All of this began as early as 1917,
Almost 100 years ago when he and his brother
Were recruited into the The Orchestra Europe -
Led by James Reese Europe, bandleader, U.S. Army.
The orchestra was assigned to an army regiment,
Nicknamed by the Germans 'The Harlem Hellfighters'.

Singing in Spanish #2

Here's the second post
In the series of Singing in Spanish,
Musica Romantica,
Translated from Spanish to English below.
Sung my neighbor Lorenzo and his quartet,
On stage last night here in San Miguel.
The link below has a movie of their performance
Singing  Si Nos Dejan



Click here for the video of Si Nos Dejan
Wait for it to load, and sing along!
The words, in Spanish and English are below:

Singing in Spanish #1

[caption id="attachment_2918" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="Grupo Trebol"][/caption]

Last night at the Feria de Lana y Laton I went by the stage which is set up in the Jardin to see what music was playing. I wanted to try out my new High definition video camera, which in almost every review, said the quality was poor in low light. I wanted to see for myself and figured 5pm - 9pm at 50-60 feet away, would be a good way to start.

Grupo Trebol, the first group,

Peña de Bernal

Is considered the third largest monolith in the world following the Rock of Gibraltar and Sugarloaf in Brazil. In mass, it is second to Ayers Rock in Australia and towers at a height of about 450 feet.

San Sebastián Bernal sits at the bottom of the mountain, a small quiet town that claims an average life span for it's inhabitants, of 94.7 years.


The mountain is believed to have magical properties,
Bringing thousands  of pilgrims each spring equinox,
Dressed in white robes, to an evening community ritual
At the small chapel mid-way up the mountain.
The town has been bestowed with the gift
Of being one of Mexico's 35 or so Pueblos Magicos.


On the weekend, the town is full of people,
Mostly tourists who live within a day's ride.
Rock climbers come to scale to the top of the mountain,
Hikers skirt around the lower half.
Most likely you'll see walkers in tennis shoes or boots,
But being as we are here in Mexico,
We also saw groups of younger women
In high heels.  Go figure.
During the week, it is a peaceful, colorful ghost town.

Santa Cecilia

On the way into town yesterday,
at the bottom of our hill, we ran into a several groups of mariachis singing to a statue of Santa Cecelia, who was resting on a litter, garnished in flowers, carried by two modern young women, chewing bubble gum.

Santa Cecilia is the patron saint of music,
Whose saint day is this coming Sunday, November 22.
We walked right into the beginning of a procession.



Santa Cecilia's martyrdom and fame
Rest on the legend of her beheading, after which,
She sang and praised god for three days as she lay dying.
After many years, when her body was found,
Three fingers of one hand were outstretched
One finger on the other hand pointing,
A sign of her belief in the holy trinity.

Andreas at the Zoo

Today we took Andreas to the Zoo
The fact that he can now walk,
Made the whole day be about eye level,
His eye level, that is,
Which meant that the falling leaves
Were more interesting
Than the animals.
Here's a movie
(incuding a couple of animals)
Of our day at the zoo.
Click on the photo to view the movie.

[caption id="attachment_2811" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="Click on the photo to view the movie"][/caption]

Andreas Turns One

This week I'm in California visiting my grandson Andreas who is turning one on the fifteenth.  Wow, what a change in him in just three months since I've seen him.  He's walking - well, running actually. He loves to play and will read a book with you for about 30 seconds.

He laughs a lot,
Understands much of what you are saying to him,
But still has a few things to learn about sleep.
Here's a few of my favorite photos from the visit so far -

Community Altar

There's too much going on today with getting ready to go up to the States tomorrow for Andreas' first birthday to write a big post, but here's a short follow up on the last few days with some photos from  yesterday.

I spent most of the day on Calle Relox, with Elvia and her girls, watching and helping a group of  young men build an altar for Jesus (Kiro) and in honor all of the other deceased of this neighborhood -parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and friends. The decorating and painting of this fountain is a tradition with these guys and is also decorated by them for every major holiday or religious festival.

Six Months Later

I met up with  Elvia and her four daughters at the cemetery today.  She was late so I waited in front for an hour, arms full of flowers - you know me by now, trying to video people coming in with flowers, buckets, shovels, eating a bag of home made potato chips with salsa and lime, trying not to grease up the lens of my camera, wiping my dirty hands on my white blouse. Boy are those potato chips good, I usually don't let myself eat those, but I coudn't help myself.



There were hundreds, if not thousands of people inside. Gravesites were covered with flowers, candles and food. Little boys were running around with plastic buckets, offering their services to get water for the flowers. Mariachis, Norteno bands and street musicians were playing.  I'll never tire of watching a group of mariachis in their white embroidered suits, carrying trumpets, guitars and violins, sing to an elderly couple who have crawled over the iron fence which surrounds the grave, to place flowers, light candles, and sit  down holding hands, while they enjoy the music with their loved one.