Week 10: Prenda del Alma

Los Alegres de Terán, 1950s. "Los padres de la música norteña"

Prenda del Alma. A good Spring Break song--this one will take us (among other places) to the Texas-México border in about 1974 (see Les Blank's film, Chulas Fronteras).

Here are some engaging versions, starting of course with Los Alegres de Terán. Pay attention to how each version is also a reinterpretation  of the meaning of the song:

Prenda del Alma - Los Alegres de Terán - YouTube  (live video--from film, Chulas Fronteras. 1974) 

Los Alegres De Teran- Prenda Del Alma - YouTube   (audio, studio recording) 

Los Lobos - Prenda Del Alma - YouTube   (con letra) 1990s

Dueto Hermanas Huerta " Prenda Del Alma" - YouTube (in a bolero version)

Las Hermanas Padilla Prenda del Alma - YouTube   (another popular duo, originally from LA) 

Vicente Fernández - Prenda del Alma (Cover Audio) - YouTube (with his high production values)

and a very popular version (around 1980?) by Chalino Sanchez:
Chalino Sanchez: Prenda del Alma - YouTube  (You can look into the back story.)

Plus something totally down home:
Dueto Parranderos de Contreras: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAiDyoQtunY
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Prenda del Alma is one of those older popular songs with a long history--many people have recorded it--and then all of a sudden there's the version by Los Alegres de Terán--which gives it a particular sweetness and vitality all its own. As with all songs, it's meaning depends on how you feel when you sing it. Is Los Alegres version enough to redeem the song? Los Lobos seemed to think so--listen to where they took it. Let's see what you think? And what you can do with this theme in visual terms! Can you redeem it? Redimirla?

The song's author was listed as Ignacio M. Valle. Here's the first recorded version, from 1929 by Margarita de la Vega y Paco Tortulero.  Sounds quite old in style, but that comes with the territory:
La prenda del alma - Margarita de la Vega & Paco Tortulero - YouTube  

For you project--enjoy the recordings, think about the letra, and see where the song takes you visually...!

Prenda del Alma

Ignacio M. Valle

¿Que haré lejos de ti, prenda del alma? 

¿Sin verte, sin oirte y sin hablarte

A cada instante intentaré de ti acordarme 

Aunque sea un imposible nuestro amor

¿Cómo quitar la esencia de las flores? 

¿Cómo quitarle al viento la armonía? 

¿Cómo negar que te amo, vida mía? 

¿Cómo borrar de mi alma esta pasión? 

Al ver el cruel destino nos condena 

Mi bien, de que me olvides tengo miedo 

Mi corazón me dice ya no puedo 

No puedo mis angustias ocultar 

¿Cómo quitar el brillo a las estrellas? 

¿Cómo impedir que corre el manso río?

 ¿Cómo negar que sufre el pecho mío? 

¿Cómo borrar de mi alma esta pasíon?

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Chulas Fronteras. As mentioned above, there's a wonderful and important film, from 1976, Chulas Fronteras (Les Blank and Chris Strachwitz and ) which presents the story of Tex-Mex and Norteño music: CHULAS FRONTERAS DOCUMENTARY/ DOCUMENTAL CHULAS FRONTERAS - YouTube , about 60 minutes. No longer on YouTube, except in short clips, but the DVD is available through Flower Films--and (again, in clips) through the UC Library. Well worth watching the whole film!

  






















You might also check out recordings by Lydia Mendoza--a central figure in early Tex-Mex (tejano) music.--featured in Chulas Fronteras. Just to get her on your radar...
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And a speculation: Listen to the Wienerlieder duos--urban folksongs from Vienna, Austria (for example, here are Heini Griuc and Girk Kurtl) for a hint at how this sound might made its way to México--and found itself transformed! Would be interesting to follow how the lieder tradition in general played a part in this... The transformation is what's important... Here are some additional Wienerlied tracks.

Week 9: Mujeres Divinas

Manuel Álvarez Bravo

Mujeres Divinas is a song that speaks to pretty much everyone--and yet when we get involved in the intricacy of the meaning of the story it presents, we're entering  world that's as legendary as that of the soldaderas from the time of the Mexican Revolución. Or the girl at the balcony in the photo by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, above. Consider the then and the now... and what the song means to you. I'm giving you a Vicente Fernández version (study the video!) and some other selections to help you put it into context. There are other cover versions on line. As you listen to the song, and look at the videos--see if you can relate this to Octavio Paz... 

Vicente Fernández (Chente) is such an interesting presence in Mexican popular music--a  bridge between the José Alfredo - Cuco Sánchez generation and the sensibility of Juan Gabriel. As we discussed in class, Chente always seems to be a little in front of the song--that is, his presence itself stands for the song. A little larger than  life... You can see this in the Vimeo video:

Vicente Fernández - Mujeres Divinas on Vimeo

Here are two older Vicente Fernandez videos:

* VICENTE FERNANDEZ tu camino y el mio RADIOMAGAZO - YouTube
Poor film quality, but very instructive.

Compare setting with Pedro Infante doing No Volveré...
NO VOLVERE (1955 Completa) - PEDRO INFANTE - YouTube

Think about the two videos above (film cliups, that is). They convey the same event--the garage workers gathering around a disconsolate compañero--but much has changed in the 20 years in between. How would you characterize the changes--as seen in the way the two shots are filmed?
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Also, here's an early classic by Vicente Fernández. The song from José Alfredo, of course. Consider the way Chavela sings it--and José Alfredo himself. How are their versions different from Chente's?
* vicente fernandez que te vaya bonito - YouTube
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Finally, as an aside-- I don't know the post source, but the video here (along with Mujeres Divinas - estilo huapango) is well worth watching:

Mujeres Divinas - Version Huapango - YouTube
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The following one--well, it speaks for itself... If we can have Elvis impersonators, of copurse we can have Chente impersonators. Or is that what's going on? Note all the surrounding characters--that's where the real story is:

Reunion Apr 17 2015 Video1 Mujeres Divinas - Chente Hernandez - YouTube
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Chente

 


Note on the photo at top of page. Originally I had the post with the image of Vicente Fernández (just above), but then I thought of the  Manuel Álvarez Bravo. From a very different time and a very different world of experience. Think about this. The choice has a lot to do with how each of us wants to attribute age to the characters in the song. Some of this is spelled out in the letra, of course--which is why Mujeres Divinas fits so well with the Vicente Fernández persona. However, what if we look at the song from a woman's perspective? How does age fit here? For each of you?

We'll look at more of Bravo's work in  class--and that of Gabriela Iturbide...he was her mentor, but she took her work in strikingly original directions...

Week 8: Modesta Ayala

Diego Rivera, Vendor de Alcatraces

A beautiful corrido, from before the time of the revolution. My favorite version is the one by Dueto Caleta:
*  Modesta Ayala - Dueto Caleta - YouTube

But some (Solitariodark) give the nod to Hnos.Zaizar:
* "Modesta Ayala" Hermanos Zaizar - YouTube

And Los Alegres de Terán:
* Los Alegres De Teran- Modesta Ayala - YouTube


There's a good deal of discussion as to the authorship and origins of the song. The gist of the story is clear (and poignant), but the details change from version to version. (Which town in Guerrero does the singer come from, for example?) However this is consistent with the nature of corridos--which started in a real events, but over time found their own reality as songs.

Note that Modesta Ayala comes with two very different endings (Dueto Caleta gives one, and the Hnos. Zaizar the other. Which makes more sense to you?

Also important--the images in the song (striking) and the settings themselves. Here's a balet folklorico version (in video) which captures this quite well. Are you put off by the idealization here--or is the treatment engaging precisely because of that?

"Modesta Ayala" Ballet folklórico Zitlalkiahuitl de Iguala, Gro. - YouTube 

and a more downhome performance:

* Dueto Ixtlahuacatengo Modesta Ayala - YouTube 


Finally, at one point in an earlier class  I did an elaborate post on the song. Includes letra. Here's the link:  *  http://anthonydubovsky42.blogspot.com/2017/02/corrido-de-modesta-ayala.html 

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"y mis huaraches con tres agujeros..."
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There's a subtle underlying theme in Modesta Ayala --that the two characters come from very different social backlgrounds. What is th esong saying about this? How is it treated in the balet folklorico version? And what does it say about the two versions- the two quite opposite endings?

A good comparison song here would be José Alfredo's Vamonos. Consider the way the difference in clases sociales is treated--now half a century later. Particularly in Chavela's version--where the social differences are internalized--that is, made personal. Could we say that this shift is characteristic of México in general? That the political gains importance as a function (and only a function) of the personnal?  Chavela's answer is in the eway she sings the song--allows the problem to disappear (reappear?) in herself...

We could look at Cama de Piedra as another example...

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Here's the family story about Próspero Salgado Marchán, presented as author of the corrido... 

* http://www.enciclopediagro.org/index.php/indices/indice-de-biografias/1413-salgado-marchan-prospero

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El Corrido de Modesta Ayala

versión Dueto Caleta

Un Domingo a Modesta encontré

 Por las calles lucidas de Iguala

Y me dijo me vine a pasear

 En un tren desde Tetecala

Por las señas que te voy a dar

A mi casa debes encontrarla

En la puerta un barandal de acero

 Y un letrero de Modesta Ayala

Que Modesta tan linda y hermosa

Ella a mí me robo el corazón

Ayer tarde platique con ella

Y me dijo mañana me voy

-

Otro dia por la mañana

 Vino el tren y Modesta se fue

En un carro veloz por la via

 Yo pensando en su amor me quede

Otro día por tierra me fui

Muy temprano llegue a Tetecala

Lo primero que voy encontrando

Un letrero de Modesta Ayala

En los marcos que tenía la puerta

Allí estaba Modesta sentada

Rancherito para donde vas

Soy la misma que viste en Iguala

-

Ella misma pronuncio a su padre

Con muchísima amabilidad

Ahi esta un hombre que busca trabajo

Usted dice Papá si le da

Soy un hombre que vengo de lejos       (Soy un pobre...)

Vivo herrante como un pasajero            (Vivo errante...)

Mi camisa es de manta rayada

Mis huaraches de tres ahujeros

Con tres dias que estuve en su casa

Ella ami me robo la existencia

Y Modesta ha de ser mi mujer

Mientras Dios me conseda licencia.

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And the long version of the letra--with the original ending. Compare with the one I gave you in class (based on Dueto Caleta, letra above):

 Corrido de Modesta Ayala.

Un domingo a Modesta encontré
por las calles lucidas de Iguala,
me figuro que vino en el tren
a pasearse desde Tetecala.

Una joven tan linda y hermosa
que a todos les llamó la atención;
en Iguala no había otra cosa,
sólo el talle de esa blanca flor.

Andaba con entusiasmo de hablarle,
un domingo logré la ocasión;
por la tarde salió a contestarme
y me dijo: “mañana me voy”.

¡Ay!–le dije–, de toda mi patria
soy criollo nacido en Guerrero,
mi distrito ha sido Teloloapan;
Teucizapan conozco por pueblo.

¡Ay!–me dijo–no le dé cuidado,
que en mi tierra nos hemos de ver;
en mi casa le dirá usted al amo
que si no podrá darle quehacer.

Por las señas que le voy a dar
es para que usted dé con mi casa,
que de fierro tiene un barandal
por el lado donde da la plaza,

y dos marcos que tiene la puerta
por el lado donde sale el sol
y un letrero diciendo “Modesta”,
la que busca ya sabe quién soy.

El día lunes muy por la mañana
silbó el tren y Modesta se fue,
muy veloz por los rieles se iba
y pensando en su amor me quedé.

Al momento marché yo por tierra,
el día martes estuve en Tetecala,
luego, luego encontré un letrero
con el nombre de Modesta Ayala.

Al pasar por la calle, me dijo,
donde estaba risueña sentada:
“¿Dónde va, dónde va, pasajero?,
soy la misma que ha visto en Iguala”.

Fue avisarle a su papá en el acto,
con bastante amabilidad:
“Ahí está un hombre que busca trabajo,
usted sabe, papá, si le da”.

“Anda y dile que pase pa’dentro,
sus facciones quiero conocer”.
Al momento me metí pa’dentro
con anhelo de aquella mujer.

Yo le dije cómo me encontraba:
como errante y como misionero,
con mi blusa rayada de manta,
mis huaraches de tres agujeros.

Entre poco de que yo llegué
esa joven perdió la existencia;
para que ella fuera mi mujer,
Dios inmenso no daría licencia.

Mas, en fin, yo ya me despido
con dolencia de mi corazón,
voy a darle fin a mi corrido
para no atormentar mi dolor.

(FMVH)

Week 7: El Hijo Desobediente

El Hijo Desobediente is a beautiful song on a difficult subject—the son who, in a moment of strong emotion, threatens his father’s life—and the consequences of this as they unfold. It’s truth is in the language of the song—the words and images— which come to us as much from the realm of legend as from everyday life. Nevertheless, the details are immediate and palpable—as are the feelings of the two characters. This is what make the song great,

The letra is in your green Cancionero. It can be a hard song to translate—particularly the third stanza (note that there are variant versions):

Get away from here, my father
for I am as brave as a lion
Let me not draw my sword               (espada = arma blanca = blade, figuratively...)
that I run it through your heart.

El Hilo Disobedient is usually listed as a corrido (a story song from a potentially true event)—a particularly Mexican form—but it’s also referred to as a romance—which can take us back as far as medieval Spain and the time of the Reconquista. Look into this. In any case, it comes from a culture of toros y caballos…

Also, pay attention to how it’s sung. There’s an on-goingness and a claiming of space—and at the same time, a kind of piety and resignation—that correspond closely to some of what Octavio Paz writes in Mascaras mexicanas… I’d like for you to think about this…  The question might be, quién es Felipe?Also, why the compression of tempo at the end of each line?

A beautiful early version by Trío Calaveras:
*  Trio Calaveras - El Hijo Desobediente - YouTube

Lucha Villa (the ranchera singer):
*  Lucha Villa - El hijo desobediente - YouTube1967

Los Alegres de Terán:
* Los Alegres De Teran El Hijo Desobediente - YouTube

There's also Antonio Aguilar, in his classic version:
Antonio Aguilar......El Hijo D, a esobediente - YouTube

And even a theatrical norteño redo from a recent Mexican film, Hambre Sed y Muerte en el Desierto: 
* BANDA TORO EL HIJO DESOBEDIENTE Hambre sed y muerte en el desierto 2 - YouTube

And gems like this, whoich may be the most telling of all:
Los Dos Mancebos - YouTube

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There's lots of musicological lore about this song. Here's a sample. With a variant letra and translation:
*  Hispano Folk Music of the Rio Grande Del Norte - Jack Loeffler, Katherine Loeffler, Enrique R. Lamadrid - Google Books

and from the cultural studies world:
Wild Tongues: Transnational Mexican Popular Culture - Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz - Google Books 

As well as popular stories: and legends:
* El hijo desobediente | cuentoscortos.org.mx


The image of el hijo desobediente (if not the particular story itself) certainly has legs.  Here's early Tin Tan in a film version from 1945. (Other segments are also posted):
* Tin Tan El hijo desobediente 1 - YouTube