A Hymn, An Artist, a Song. The true backgrounds of La Bamba. A story of folklore and rock 'n' roll.
In 1987 a film gave a lot to talk about and one tune reached the charts worldwide in weeks, winning its place once and forever. La Bamba, the movie and the song.
The story tells about the struggles, the rise and death of Ritchie Valens, born as Richard Steven Valenzuela, who became famous over the night, changing the way rock 'n' roll was being made, singing for the first time the genre in spanish, at least, so was he recognized.
Everyone knows this story. Everyone saw the film. And everyone felt touched by the life, the talent and the tragic fate of this artist. But not everyone is aware that the song wasn't his. It's undeniable that we can't take away the recognition for his contribution, the value of his unique and personal vision, which took the genre to another level and, in turn, opened a door to the ibero-american market that has never been closed again. From this point on, many spanish-speaking artists, and non-spanish-speaking ones too, discovered that rock 'n' roll can be sung in this language and enjoyed just the same.
The original composition is accredited to an unknown song composer from Veracruz, M茅xico. La Bamba is a very famous song, almost an anthem for the people there, but, when you hear it, you will immediately note that it's quite different, without losing the essence. Or, on the contrary, the origen of the essence itself. Played on son jarocho, a traditional gerne of the same state, where guitars have the main role over anything else. Bamba has its roots on an african word, presumably from "Bembe", which means dance or party.
Now, to finish this post, I invite you to listen to the oldest registered known recording there is. Preformed by Alvaro Hernandez Ortiz, El Jarocho. Please enjoy!
See you around folks!
Blessings 馃檹
Espa帽ol
En 1987, una pel铆cula dio mucho de qu茅 hablar y una canci贸n alcanz贸 las listas de 茅xitos mundiales en cuesti贸n de semanas, consolid谩ndose para siempre. La Bamba, la pel铆cula y la canci贸n.
La historia narra las luchas, el ascenso y la muerte de Ritchie Valens, nacido como Richard Steven Valenzuela, quien se hizo famoso de la noche a la ma帽ana, revolucionando la forma de hacer rock 'n' roll, cantando por primera vez el g茅nero en espa帽ol, al menos, as铆 fue reconocido.
Todos conocen esta historia. Todos vieron la pel铆cula. Y todos se sintieron conmovidos por la vida, el talento y el tr谩gico destino de este artista. Pero no todos saben que la canci贸n no era suya. Es innegable que no podemos quitarle el reconocimiento a su contribuci贸n, el valor de su visi贸n 煤nica y personal, que llev贸 el g茅nero a otro nivel y, a su vez, abri贸 una puerta al mercado iberoamericano que nunca se ha vuelto a cerrar. A partir de entonces, muchos artistas hispanohablantes, y tambi茅n no hispanohablantes, descubrieron que el rock 'n' roll se puede cantar en este idioma y disfrutarlo igualmente.
La composici贸n original se atribuye a un compositor desconocido de Veracruz, M茅xico. La Bamba es una canci贸n muy famosa, casi un himno para la gente de all铆, pero al escucharla, notar谩s inmediatamente que es muy diferente, sin perder su esencia. O, por el contrario, el origen de la esencia misma. Interpretada en son jarocho, un g茅nero tradicional del mismo estado, donde la guitarra tiene un papel principal. La Bamba tiene sus ra铆ces en una palabra africana, presumiblemente de "Bembe", que significa baile o fiesta.
Ahora, para terminar esta publicaci贸n, los invito a escuchar la grabaci贸n registrada m谩s antigua que se conoce. Interpretada por 脕lvaro Hern谩ndez Ortiz, El Jarocho. 隆Disfruten!
隆Nos vemos por ah铆, amigos!
Bendiciones 馃檹