EL MÉXICO QUE SE NOS FUE
THE MEXICO THAT WE LOST 
Juan Gabriel

 

Frida with a rebozo.  One of the famous artist Frida Kahlo's many self portraits.

Huaraches, the footwear of the campesino.

 

"He broke the cántaro".  One of the famous Spanish artist Goya's less known works.

 

 While I'm certainly not a publicist for Juan Gabriel, few if any artists can match his four decades of turning out hit after hit.  This is not one of his most popular songs, but it expresses the grief of a Mexican seeing how his country has changed in a way few can match.  It is an excellent accompaniment to Isaac Rogel's stories.  We have about half the music here.  It is in the new MP3Pro format; we've tested playing it in Windows Media Player,  Winamp. 
and itunes.  If you have any problems, a specific MP3Pro player can be downloaded here.  To buy the album which contains this song and many others of a similar nature, go here.

Cómo ha cambiado mi pueblo,  How my village has changed,
mi pueblo ya no es el mismo. my village isn't the same any more.
De aquel pueblo tan hermoso From that village so beautiful
al de hoy  hay un abismo. to that of today there is a chasm.
   
Ya no hay mujer con rebozo, Now there aren't any women with rebozos,
ya no hay hombres campesinos, now there aren't any men [who are] campesinos,
ya el cántaro(1) no va al pozo, now the pitcher [jug] doesn't go to the well,
lo rompió el industrialismo. it was broken by industrialization.
   
Ya se contaminó el agua Now they've contaminated the water
de las acequias y ríos, of the irrigation ditches and rivers,
ya se secó el ojo de agua, now the spring has dried up,
ya cerraron el molino. now they've closed the mill.
   
Ya la mujer no usa enaguas Now the women don't wear petticoats,
ni el hombre calzón de indio, nor the men Indian pants,
ya la mujer no usa el habla now the women don't use the language
ni el hombre su  civismo. nor the men their civility.
   
Ya las casitas de adobe Now the [little] adobe houses
están desapareciendo, are disappearing,
hoy las construyen de blockes,(2) today they build them with cement blocks,
vean, las están haciendo. look, they're doing it.
   
La plata y el oro del pobre The silver and gold of the poor [man]
caros se han ido poniendo, has been becoming expensive,
ya no hay monedas de cobre now there aren't any copper coins,
de níquel hoy vienen siendo. of nickel today the are being made.
   
Ya no oigo  tocar la banda Now I don't hear the band
de los Suárez y sus hijos, of the Suárez and their children play,
qué triste se ve la plaza how sad the plaza looks
los sábados y los domingos. on Saturdays and Sundays
Ya hay otra clase de banda, Now there's another kind of band,
ya no hay kiosco ni estanquillo.(3) now there are no kiosks or estanqillos.
   
Ya la gente del campo se ha ido Now the people have left the land
a emprender una nueva aventura to undertake a new adventure
a los campos de Estados Unidos to the lands of the United States
con tristeza y quizás amargura with sadness, and possibly bitterness
de saber que en su pueblo han perdido to know that in their village has been lost
el ingenio, el molino y cordura. ingeniousness, the mill, and common sense
   
Pocos vuelven de allá y yo he venido, Few return from there, and I have come
y lo encuentro cambiado y no hay duda and I find it changed and there's not doubt
de que ya no está aquel pueblo chiquito than now it's not the little village
que inspiraba añoranza y ternura, that inspired longing and tenderness,
ya no es aquel pueblo bonito, now it's not that little village
el comercio le trajo basura. business has brought it trash.
   
Aquel tiempo se hablaba de ranchos, In those days they talked of farms,
de la milpa y la tabla de arroz, of the corn and rice fields,
de la música, el baile y el canto, of music, dance and song,
del padre, de la madre y de Dios, of the father, the mother, and God,
de la siembra y cosecha del campo, of the sowing and harvesting of the land,
de la casa, el lugar y el amor. of the home , the place, and of love.
   
Ahora hablan de que hay terrorismo, Now they talk about that there is terrorism,
del peso y su devaluación, about the peso and its devaluation,
ahora hablan con tal pesimismo now they talk with such pessimism,
de que ahí viene otra revolución, that here there'll be another revolution,
ahora en vez de mirarse ellos mismos now instead of looking at themselves
ahora miran la televisión. now they watch the television.

(1) Cántaro is a pitcher.  Before, women would balance a cántaro on their heads when they went to get water from the village well.
(2) I don't know whether cement block construction has any cost benefits over traditional adobe, but it does have real comfort problems.  While the mass of adobe made adobe houses relatively cool in summer and warm in winter, cement block does just the opposite.
(3) A kiosk is a usually free-standing temporary structure for selling soft drinks, candy, some food items, etc.  An estanquillo is usually a room in a building with a serving window opening on the street.  Its offerings are much the same as a kiosk's.

  To purchase Juan Gabriel's CD
   El México que se nos fue, 
   click on the picture.

 

 

 
 

"Mujer con rebozo", by one of Mexico's most famous modern artists.Rufino Tamayo.

A cántaro

A campesino dressed in "calzón de indo" (short pants).  Except for the fact that he's wearing a sort of straw "cowboy" hat instead o a traditional Mexican sombrero, his dress and appearance has changed little since the 19th century.