Every popular Latino song that permeates our culture has a story but few have the whimsical background and historical significance that matches the \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d,\u00a0 perhaps the oldest tune that Latino \u2013 and non-Latinos \u2013 alike can easily sing, or whistle to.<\/p>\n
There is significant debate about the exact time when the song we know today was born.\u00a0 What\u2019s undeniable is that this Mexican Corrido first shot to fame during the Mexican Revolution, and there are two popular schools of thought about who the cockroach in the Corrido is referring to, and when it started.<\/p>\n
Many chroniclers<\/a> claim that the best-known version<\/a> of \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d started as one of the favorite songs of Francisco \u201cPancho\u201d Villa\u2019s troops who modified the lyrics and used them to mock dictator Victoriano Huerta.\u00a0 Huertas was despised by many for double-crossing, deposing, and allegedly assassinating the popular president Francisco I. Madero<\/a> (1910-1912).<\/p>\n In this context, the song portrays Huerta as a cockroach because, in addition to being a conspirator in Madero\u2019s overthrow, he was known for his addiction to alcohol and marijuana.\u00a0 Huerta had a gait hindered by drinking and vision impairment, which is why the song calls him La Cucaracha que ya no puede caminar (the roach that can\u2019t walk).<\/p>\n As usually happens with popular culture, through the 10 years of the war, and the hardships it brought many, the song\u2019s verses transformed into general complaints about the conflict and the people who were suffering it.\u00a0 It also brings us to the other, equally strong, if not stronger theory about the song.<\/p>\n Some historians argue that the earliest physical of \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d demonstrates that the song is not about Huerta after all but rather about the Mexican women of the Revolution.<\/p>\n The first known printed version<\/a> of the lyrics of \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d dates from 1915 as a lithograph by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo and depicts women in all its verses.<\/p>\n During those years, Mexican women endured harsh conditions as they both traveled along with their husbands and boyfriends to support them and their families during the war, and also fought alongside them in battles.\u00a0 Among the nicknames for these women warriors and camp followers were Soldaderas, Adelitas, Juanas, and Cucarachas.<\/p>\n In her book Mexican Military: Myth and History<\/a>, author Elizabeth Salas writes: \u201cUnlike corridos about male revolutionaries like Villa and Zapata, none of the well-known corridos about soldaderas give their real names or are biographical. Consequently, there are very few stanzas that ring true about women in battle or the camps.\u201d<\/p>\n The women of the battlefield didn\u2019t just have to literally fight to survive, they had to constantly overcome machismo, and misogyny in all its forms. \u00a0 Even the great muralist Jos\u00e9 Clemente denigrated them by associating them with the cockroach symbol, and depicting them as prostitutes, in his engraving<\/a> \u201cEl Baile de la Cucaracha.\u201d<\/p>\n Mexico\u2019s proximity to the United States made the migration of the catchy Corrido further north inevitable, fueling its growth, and building its legacy.<\/p>\n In 1934, director and actor Lloyd Corrigan set in motion<\/a> the production of a musical short under the same name, believed to be the first live-action use of the full-color Technicolor Process No. 4.\u00a0 The short tells the story of Se\u00f1or Martinez, a famous theater owner, who visits a local cafe in Mexico in search of a famous dancer.<\/p>\n \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d won<\/a> producer Kenneth Macgowan an Oscar in 1935 for best comedy short film.\u00a0 The only member of his crew of Mexican origin was Don Alvarado.<\/p>\n La Cucaracha\u2019s Secret Sauce: It\u2019s Catchy, Ever-Changing<\/p>\n Aside from being a super catchy song, it seems that one of the chief reasons why so many people recognize it quickly is because it has appeared in countless Looney Tunes cartoons, and has been covered by scores of musical performers including Louis Armstrong, Charo, and Liberace.<\/p>\n A major curiosity about \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d is that although most people know the first few lyrics of the tune, many have changed the song to explain what follows the part that says, \u201cporque le falta, porque le falta<\/em>\u201d\u2026\u00a0 The offbeat things people say the infamous cockroach is missing has included its leg, marijuana, booze, a girlfriend, and countless other things.<\/p>\n Today, \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d is not only the name of a popular song but of an iconic comic strip by award-winning Chicano artist Lalo Alcaraz.<\/p>\n It was thanks to an LA Weekly columnist that Alcaraz discovered the origins of \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d. Understanding that it was meant as a form of popular political satire, the cartoonist embraced the cockroach symbol for the powerful meaning it represented.<\/p>\n In his comic strip \u201cLa Cucaracha,\u201d Eddie, Lalo\u2019s alter ego, shows life through the prism of irreverence and activism from the perspective of Latinos in the United States.<\/p>\n The comic strip\u2019s main character, \u201cLa Cucaracha,\u201d is militant, Chicano, and with the characteristics of the stereotype: a goatee, sneakers, khaki pants, and a flannel shirt buttoned only at the collar.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if is a very Spaniard thing to do, but it is a very Latin American thing to do,\u201d he told Nuestro Stories. \u201cA very Mexican thing to do, especially, is to talk shit and make fun of things, of our miserable lives.\u201d<\/p>\n The comic strip was first published in the LA Weekly in 1992, and the satirical themes, which speak to the real Latino experience in Southern California, soon made waves.<\/p>\n \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d is considered one of the most controversial in the history of American comics<\/a>, but Lalo wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.\u00a0 The strip is syndicated by Andrews McMeel Syndication and is printed in more than 60 newspapers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s free to be a smart ass; it doesn\u2019t cost you any money. It might cost you a tooth or a broken nose, but that\u2019s cheap compared to losing your dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n The post From Satire to Folk Music, the Symbolism Behind \u2018La Cucaracha\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Nuestro Stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every popular Latino song that permeates our culture has a story but few have the whimsical background and historical significance that matches the \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d,\u00a0 perhaps the oldest tune that Latino \u2013 and non-Latinos \u2013 … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[148],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Cockroach as a symbol of women<\/h2>\n
\u2018La Cucaracha\u2019 in the United States<\/h2>\n
Lalo Alcaraz brings \u2018La Cucaracha\u2019 to the comic world<\/h2>\n
![first known printed version<\/a> of the lyrics of \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d dates from 1915 as a lithograph by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo and depicts women in all its verses.<\/p>\nDuring those years, Mexican women endured harsh conditions as they both traveled along with their husbands and boyfriends to support them and their families during the war, and also fought alongside them in battles.\u00a0 Among the nicknames for these women warriors and camp followers were Soldaderas, Adelitas, Juanas, and Cucarachas.<\/p>\nIn her book Mexican Military: Myth and History<\/a>, author Elizabeth Salas writes: \u201cUnlike corridos about male revolutionaries like Villa and Zapata, none of the well-known corridos about soldaderas give their real names or are biographical. Consequently, there are very few stanzas that ring true about women in battle or the camps.\u201d<\/p>\nThe women of the battlefield didn\u2019t just have to literally fight to survive, they had to constantly overcome machismo, and misogyny in all its forms. \u00a0 Even the great muralist Jos\u00e9 Clemente denigrated them by associating them with the cockroach symbol, and depicting them as prostitutes, in his engraving<\/a> \u201cEl Baile de la Cucaracha.\u201d<\/p>\n\u2018La Cucaracha\u2019 in the United States<\/h2>\nMexico\u2019s proximity to the United States made the migration of the catchy Corrido further north inevitable, fueling its growth, and building its legacy.<\/p>\nIn 1934, director and actor Lloyd Corrigan set in motion<\/a> the production of a musical short under the same name, believed to be the first live-action use of the full-color Technicolor Process No. 4.\u00a0 The short tells the story of Se\u00f1or Martinez, a famous theater owner, who visits a local cafe in Mexico in search of a famous dancer.<\/p>\n\u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d won<\/a> producer Kenneth Macgowan an Oscar in 1935 for best comedy short film.\u00a0 The only member of his crew of Mexican origin was Don Alvarado.<\/p>\nLa Cucaracha\u2019s Secret Sauce: It\u2019s Catchy, Ever-Changing<\/p>\nAside from being a super catchy song, it seems that one of the chief reasons why so many people recognize it quickly is because it has appeared in countless Looney Tunes cartoons, and has been covered by scores of musical performers including Louis Armstrong, Charo, and Liberace.<\/p>\nA major curiosity about \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d is that although most people know the first few lyrics of the tune, many have changed the song to explain what follows the part that says, \u201cporque le falta, porque le falta<\/em>\u201d\u2026\u00a0 The offbeat things people say the infamous cockroach is missing has included its leg, marijuana, booze, a girlfriend, and countless other things.<\/p>\nLalo Alcaraz brings \u2018La Cucaracha\u2019 to the comic world<\/h2>\nToday, \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d is not only the name of a popular song but of an iconic comic strip by award-winning Chicano artist Lalo Alcaraz.<\/p>\nIt was thanks to an LA Weekly columnist that Alcaraz discovered the origins of \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d. Understanding that it was meant as a form of popular political satire, the cartoonist embraced the cockroach symbol for the powerful meaning it represented.<\/p>\nIn his comic strip \u201cLa Cucaracha,\u201d Eddie, Lalo\u2019s alter ego, shows life through the prism of irreverence and activism from the perspective of Latinos in the United States.<\/p>\nThe comic strip\u2019s main character, \u201cLa Cucaracha,\u201d is militant, Chicano, and with the characteristics of the stereotype: a goatee, sneakers, khaki pants, and a flannel shirt buttoned only at the collar.<\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if is a very Spaniard thing to do, but it is a very Latin American thing to do,\u201d he told Nuestro Stories. \u201cA very Mexican thing to do, especially, is to talk shit and make fun of things, of our miserable lives.\u201d<\/p>\nThe comic strip was first published in the LA Weekly in 1992, and the satirical themes, which speak to the real Latino experience in Southern California, soon made waves.<\/p>\n\u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d is considered one of the most controversial in the history of American comics<\/a>, but Lalo wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.\u00a0 The strip is syndicated by Andrews McMeel Syndication and is printed in more than 60 newspapers.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s free to be a smart ass; it doesn\u2019t cost you any money. It might cost you a tooth or a broken nose, but that\u2019s cheap compared to losing your dignity.\u201d<\/p>\nThe post From Satire to Folk Music, the Symbolism Behind \u2018La Cucaracha\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Nuestro Stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every popular Latino song that permeates our culture has a story but few have the whimsical background and historical significance that matches the \u201cLa Cucaracha\u201d,\u00a0 perhaps the oldest tune that Latino \u2013 and non-Latinos \u2013 … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[148],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Satire to Folk Music, the Symbolism Behind \u2018La Cucaracha\u2019 - Blog TSK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/from-satire-to-folk-music-the-symbolism-behind-la-cucaracha\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Satire to Folk Music, the Symbolism Behind \u2018La Cucaracha\u2019 - 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