Verse-Chorus-Verse

A column dedicated to great songs, old and new.

September 27, 2005

"La Guacamaya" - Los Lobos

Son Jarocho traditional, arranged by Los Lobos
From La Pistola y El Corazón, Warner Bros/Slash Records, 1990

While on tour in support of california, I would often talk about the so-called "California Sound". Staid rock-crit wisdom locates the sound of the Golden State almost exclusively in the work of artists like the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas, Fleetwood Mac, and Dick Dale. A fine and respectable bunch, to be sure, but I always like to point out that there has always been another "California Sound". That sound was created by folks like Lalo Guerrero, Thee Midniters, Mark Guerrero, Malo, Redbone, Tierra, and many others. These artists may not have had the big-buck success of the Beach Boys, but they damn sure came up with a unique sound, which both acknowledged their ancestral ties to this land and incorporated the influences of the rock n roll and soul music they loved so dearly.

Los Lobos, who first emerged on the national scene in the 80s, are the second generation of that 'other' California Sound. Over the years they’ve proven to be visionary recording artists, approaching each album with a distinct sonic palette, a daring attitude, and an armful of kickass songs. "La Guacamaya" is from their most controversial record, La Pistola y El Corazón, which is a cover album of sorts. The only thing is, they didn’t cover a bunch of rock n roll tunes, they covered songs from various Mexican music traditions.

"La Guacamaya" is from the Son Jarocho tradition, which originated in Veracruz, Mexico. "La Bamba" is probably the most famous Son Jarocho tune. Though I also love the moody Huapango style, Son Jarocho is probably my favorite style of Mexican music because of both the form (characterized by call-and-response vocals, rhythmic playing, and improvisation) and the instrumentation (I love La Arpa Jarocha, the harp associated with this style). "La Guacamaya" (ostensibly about the multicolored toucan/macaw bird) is rendered here with the precise syncopation and gusto of musicians who thoroughly know and love this music. The lead vocal is by Cesar Rosas, whose way with a Spanish lyric expresses both the intent of the tradition and his own rock/R&B background. Dig the lyric:

Pobrecita guacamaya ay! Qué lástima me das
Ay qué lástima me das, pobrecita guacamaya
Se acabron las pitahayas ahora si qué comerás
Pobrecita guacamaya ay! Qué lástima me das

 Vuela, vuela, vuela, como yo volé
Cuando me llevaron preso señorita por usted
Vuela, vuela, vuela, como yo volé
Cuando me llevaron preso señorita por usted

Una guacamaya pinta le dijo a la colorada:
“Vamonos para tierra pa pasar la temporada”

As translated in the booklet:

Poor guacamaya, oh what a pity
Oh what a pity, poor guacamaya
The cactus fruit are all gone now,
What will you eat?
Poor guacamaya....oh what a pity

Fly, fly, fly, oh how I flew
When I was taken prisoner, señorita
All because of you

The many colored guacamaya said to the red one:
“Let us go to my land to pass the season”

Songs with animal and anthropomorphic imagery are pretty common in indigenous and mestizo cultures, and "La Guacamaya" is clearly in that line. The delivery of the tune has a giddy playfulness throughout, which makes it a perfect, fun opener for this album.

Although I am a huge fan of Los Lobos’ original work and approach, I particularly admire the guts it took to make this record, especially because they made it as the follow-up album to the frenzied commercial success of the "La Bamba" soundtrack. The entire La Pistola y El Corazón album is an excellent sampler of Mexican music traditions, executed with great joy and respect (they also throw in 2 originals which fit right in). It's a good way for a newbie to get started on both traditional Mexican music and Californian Chicano music. From this album, you can jump to Los Lobos’ beautiful Kiko record, the surreal Colossal Head album, or even back to some of the artists I mentioned above, most of whom, like Los Lobos, cut their teeth in East LA.

It’ll put a whole new spin on the "California Sound", ese.

pcm

Purchase:
La Pistola y El Corazón
at Amazon.com
at Tower Records

For further research:
Check out singer/songwriter/Chicano music historian Mark Guerrero's website. In addition to info on his own excellent original music catalog (he's a future VCV profile for sure), the site features original flyers from the early East LA music scene, many engaging and educational articles, and lots of important information about Mark's father Lalo Guerrero, commonly acknowledged as the Father of Chicano Music.

Several books about Chicano music exist. One of my favorites is Land of a Thousand Dances: Chicano Rock n Roll in Southern California by David Reyes and Tom Waldman, published in 1998 by the University of New Mexico Press.
Available at Amazon.com

A more recent book focusing more on Bay Area bands is Voices of Latin Rock: The People and Events That Shaped the Sound by Jim McCarthy and Ron Sansoe, published by Hal Leonard in 2004.
Available at Amazon.com