 A contemporary corrido song sheet of La cucaracha issued during the Mexican Revolution. Note the original lyrics and the reference to cartoncitos, which were a type of scrip issued as pay. "La Cucaracha" ("The Cockroach") is a traditional Spanish language folk song of the genre known as a corrido, that became popular in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. La Cucaracha means the cockroach in Spanish. ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (424x640, 103 KB) A corrido song sheet of the song La cucaracha, dating from the Mexican Revolution. ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (424x640, 103 KB) A corrido song sheet of the song La cucaracha, dating from the Mexican Revolution. ...
Scrip is any substitute for currency which is not legal tender, and is often a form of credit. ...
Families Blaberidae Blattellidae Blattidae Cryptocercidae Polyphagidae Nocticolidae Cockroaches (or simply roaches) are insects of the order blattodea. ...
This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ...
Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the...
The corrido is a popular narrative song and poetry form, a ballad, of the mestizo Mexican cultural area (which includes the Southwestern states of the United States, taken from Mexican sovereignty in the mid 19th Century). ...
This article is about the Mexican Revolution of 1910. ...
Origins The ultimate origin of "La Cucaracha" is unsettled, but it gained its greatest popularity during the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th century. However, the song is mentioned in 1883, and possibly as early as 1818. Although it is speculated that it may be of Spanish origin, there is no reliable source for this, nor does the song appear in any other Latin American country.
Lyrics The lyrics consist of independent verses, often improvised. It is similar to Yankee Doodle, The Burning of the School or On Top of Old Smoky. One typical and most familiar verse is as follows: Yankee Doodle is a well-known American song, often sung patriotically today . ...
The Burning of the School (not an official title) is a parody of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, known and sung by schoolchildren throughout the United States and in some locations in the United Kingdom. ...
On Top of Old Smoky is a traditional folk song of the United States which, as recorded by The Weavers, reached the pop music charts in 1951. ...
- La cucaracha, la cucaracha
- Ya no puede caminar
- Porque no tiene, porque le falta
- Marihuana que fumar.
English - The cockroach, the cockroach
- Can't walk anymore
- Because it lacks, because it doesn't have,
- Marijuana to smoke.
The reference to marijuana arose during a period of time---approximately the time of the Mexican Revolution---when the word cucaracha was also a slang term for marijuana or a marijuana cigarette stub (whence the term "roach clip" in American slang). A Cannabis sativa plant The drug cannabis, also called marijuana, is produced from parts of the cannabis plant, primarily the cured flowers and gathered trichomes of the female plant. ...
A popular style of roach clips are medical stats. ...
Another example:
- La cucaracha, la cucaracha
- Ya no puede caminar
- Porque no tiene, porque le falta
- La patita principal.
English - The cockroach, the cockroach
- Can't walk anymore
- Because it doesn't have, because it lacks
- The principal leg
In contexts where the mention of marijuana would be unsuitable, limonada que tomar ("lemonade to drink") or las patitas de atrás' ("its hind legs") are frequently substituted for the last line. This preserves both story and, in the Spanish version, meter.
Many lyrics are in fact just nonsense verses and others about love:
- Cuando uno quiere a una (When a man loves a woman)
- Y esta una no lo quiere, (but she doesn't love him back)
- Es lo mismo como si un calvo (it's like a bald man)
- En calle encuentre un peine. (finding a comb in the street)
- Mi vecina de enfrente (my neighbor across the street)
- Se llamaba Doña Clara, (was called Doña Clara)
- Y si no había muerte (and if she hasn't died)
- Es probable se llamara. (That's probably what she would be called)
During the Mexican Revolution, rebel and government forces alike invented political lyrics. In some versions, the cockroach is President Victoriano Huerta, who was a notorious drunk, and considered a villain and traitor due to his part in the death of revolutionary President Francisco Madero. They may include lines like: A graphical timeline is available here: Timeline of the Mexican Revolution José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (December 23, 1850 – January 13, 1916) was a Mexican military officer and President of Mexico. ...
Francisco I. Madero González (30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a revolutionary who served as President of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. ...
- En el norte viva Villa
- En el sur viva Zapata
- Lo que quiero es venganza
- Por la muerte de Madero
(English) - In the north long live Villa,
- In the south long live Zapata
- What I want is revenge
- For the death of Madero
In Francisco Rodríguez Marín's book "Cantos populares españoles", published in 1883, he records several verses that deal with the Reconquista wars against the Moors in Spain: For other senses of this word, see Reconquista (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see moor. ...
- De la patillas de un moro
- tengo que hacer una escoba,
- para que barra el cuartel
- la infantería española.
(English) - From the sideburns of a Moor
- I must make a broom
- to sweep the quarters
- of the Spanish infantry
Meaning of La Cucaracha There are as many meanings of "La Cucaracha" as there are versions of it. The same can be said for the word itself. The word can refer to the insect. It can also be used to refer to a person derogatorily by association with a cockroach. It has been used as an underworld slang term for marijuana, or a marijuana cigarette stub (whence the American slang term "roach clip"), or tobacco adulterated with marijuana, or tobacco adulterated with anything. [1] It has been used as slang for a vehicle or a train car without any wheels.
One story which relates to the vehicle slang usage involved Pancho Villa. A "Model T" type vehicle, loaded with Pancho Villa and his personal guard, all hanging on for dear life, arms and legs flying in all directions, was said to look like a cockroach (cucaracha). Therefore, some verses of the song "La Cucaracha" refer to the command and staff vehicle of Villa. The vehicle is on display in the Pancho Villa museum in the City of Chihuahua, State of Chihuahua, Mexico, with the bullet holes plainly in sight from Villa's assassination in 1923. For the Filipino boxer, see Francisco Guilledo. ...
Some of the performers of the song Louis[1] Armstrong[2] (4 August 1901[3] – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo[4] and Pops, was an American jazz musician. ...
This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...
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For the Speedy Gonzales song, see Pat Boone. ...
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