Lyr Req: La Cucaracha

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: GUEST,Guest is Q
Date: 14 May 08 - 08:04 PM

I don't think there are any political overtones in the NM verse. I remember that there was a version sung to children and I think these two verses are from that one, but I don't remember any of the song.
In New Mexico, pinto usually means 'spotted,' but painted is OK too.

Two stars in their eyes is, I think, correct. The line in Spanish might have been incorrectly rendered by Loomis. On the other hand, New Mexico has some peculiar idioms surviving from Spain of 400 years ago.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: GUEST,Chicken Charlie
Date: 14 May 08 - 08:09 PM

Yeah, sure,--as in "pinto pony." Shoulda thought of that.

Lummis was a good guy & devoted song collector, although I've been told he had such a limited range, he really did play EVERYTHING in C.

Chicken Charlie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 15 Oct 08 - 06:37 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: GUEST,peter schoeffel
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 03:02 AM

during the time of dictator franco spanish school chldren had to skip the marijuana and sang "las patitas de atras".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: Monique
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 05:41 AM

So that would be why my mother would sing it this way. She would also sing a verse going

Cuando Rita se bañaba            When Rita was bathing
En el río San Fernando          In the San Fernando river
Le picó la cucaracha             The cockroack stung her
Pero ella siguió nadando         But she kept swimming

and guys, I type Alt 160 to 165 to get the Spanish special characters, doesn't it work the same on your keyboards?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 01:59 PM

Monique, the Alt characters work for you (your verse about Rita), but not for me. Instead, I use the HTML characters, which can be used directly with my Microsoft Windows.

n tilde- ñ (& and # plus 241 and semicolon)

If I type ALT 164 (tilde on ALT list) I get nada (nothing).

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: Monique
Date: 07 Nov 08 - 02:29 PM

Q, thanks for the info. The Alt characters don't work on my laptop either unless I use a number pad but on the "normal" computer I'm glad they do, and I tend to forget (among other things) that all computers don't work the same. So let's be happy Spanish has so few special characters!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: GUEST,Senora Carlota
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 07:18 AM

I believe "una cucaracha pinta" means "a painted (lady)".
'Ladies of the night' are referred as "painted ladys".
So we know what they were doing "to pass some time".
I love this site!! I just wanted the verses to the song and I
found a lot of history and supposition. The supposition is the
most fun. Muchas Gracias! Senora Carlota

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 01:19 PM

The post from Senora Carlota is a reminder that the word cucaracha was applied to people deemed 'undesirable' as well as to the ubiquitous insect.
In Mexico, it can be a pushy beggar, a hanger-on, a petty thief, a turncoat, a hated person (the Federalist General and dictator Huerta), etc.

I remember the 'painted ladies' of Barcelona, with their fancy eyeglasses that resembled butterfly wings, hence the name "mariposa."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: SINSULL
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 08:29 PM

La cucaracha, la cucaracha,
Ya no puede caminar,
Porque no tiene, porque le falta
Dinero para gustar


or so the Josephites taught.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 09:10 PM

Gee, I wasn't aware that Canon van Crombrugghe taught that! Josephites came to America to work with the freed slaves and encourage Catholicism.

And I don't think a cockroach needed money in order to have a good time. That last line belongs to a different copla.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: La Cucaracha
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 10:06 PM

I found SINSULL's verse- copla no. 9506 in Cancionero Folklórico de México:
the last line is 'dinero para gastar,' meaning money to spend. The meaning is not much different with 'gustar,' so perhaps it was used that way too.

Tomorrow I will post 30 verses of "La Cucaracha Viajera," which appeared in Mexico City in 1916. A 'whole nother' song. But related.