immigration policy and sounds even more radical today than he did over 40 years ago. In an era when undocumented immigrants are frequently portrayed as pitiful and helpless, here is a proud, unabashed one who revels in mocking U.S. Chente’s character not only isn’t afraid - he sues the government for his abuse. In "The Orders," Chente assumes the role of a mojado - a “wetback” - who freely crosses in and out of the United States - “300 times, let’s say,” until the hated migra finally captures him and beats him up. Hence, this morality play ringed by accordion, a novelty in ranchera music but one used here to evoke the U.S.-Mexico border, where norteño music reigns. Yet he was someone who well knew the struggles of his fans in the United States and marveled at their resolve as they tried to come into el Norte, legally and not. “Los Mandados,” 1977Ĭhente was a political conservative, a longtime supporter of Mexico’s long-ruling PRI party who infamously sang at the 2000 Republican National Convention. The following spring, all the magueys on the hill sprouted stalks that bore the graffiti that declared their eternal love, a bit of magical realism that’s also one of the great reveals in ranchera history. “The Law of the Hill” was included in the soundtrack for the film “ El Hijo del Pueblo” (“The People’s Son”) and tells the story of a man who had scratched his name and that of his beloved on a maguey plant after a night of canoodling, only to see her break off that stalk when they broke up. His songs about horses ("El Moro de Cumpas"), roosters ("Hoy Platiqué con Mi Gallo" - more on that in a bit), and the village life always found him at his most exuberant, especially in peliculas campestres - rural comedies. “La Ley del Monte,” 1975ĭespite becoming Mexican royalty, Chente was always a country boy at heart. "The King" is one of the few times that a singer bested Jiménez’s original rendition, and it’s such a part of Mexican American life that it played at AT&T Stadium in Dallas during a Cowboys game Sunday - and the crowd sang along and cheered. That particular refrain is now as much a part of Southern California Mexican American Spanish as “Doyers.” “El Rey,” 1972Ĭhente covered some Jiménez songs - “El Jinete” on his first album, “Las Botas de Charro” in 1979 - but none were better than this one, a defiantly existential cri de coeur in the same theme as “My Way” (which Jose Alfredo wrote before Paul Anka - just saying). But the most famous track from “¡Arriba Huentitlán!” is “Volver, Volver.” Once again, Arriaga helps his compa on the chorus to this weeper, one so heart-wrenching that no less an authority of melancholy than Harry Dean Stanton sang it for one of his final film roles, in 2017’s “Lucky.” The song starts with a dirge-like organ, moves on to weeping horns backed by simple, strong guitar strums, and crawls toward the titular, titanic plea of “Volver, Volver” - return, return. The album starts off with “El Jalisciense,” a galloping paean to the traits and cities of his native state of Jalisco. The 1972 album “¡Arriba Huentitlán!” (“Long Live Huentitlán!”, the name of Fernández’s hometown) was Fernández’s first great release. Together, the two lifted “Tu Camino y el Mío” (“Your Way and Mine”) to its heights and let Mexico know that Fernández had a good shot of living up to his hype. But what pushes him over the edge in misery is the chorus, where Felipe Arriaga, one of the few singers who was ever able to match Chente’s baritone - joins in.
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He communicates the depressed frenzy of the protagonist - this is a guy who can’t get over the woman who left him and just doesn’t know how to move on - with a calm, deliberate delivery. “A bunch of ungrateful memories/A letter that I haven’t read,” Chente roars, as mournful horns back up his sadness. He began to fulfill his potential with this song. Think of those as his Randy Johnson years. “Tu Camino y el Mío,” 1969įernandez’s first albums found him trying to rein in his titanic voice but not yet having the maturity or skill to do so. These are not my favorite Chente songs and definitely not yours, but it chronologically tracks one of the greats and shows what made him so consistently spectacular. The following is a glimpse into how Fernández turned into another of his nicknames - El Ídolo de México. When we think of the archetypal ranchera singer - a man in a gleaming charro suit and immaculate mustache whose machismo swings from braggadocio to pathos in seconds - we now think of the man whom fans simply know as Chente. Over the next 40 years, Fernández released hundreds of songs that secured his spot as the fifth head alongside Negrete, Infante, Solís and Jiménez on ranchera’s Mt.