It's not often, either now or in the past, for me to purchase a nearly twenty-dollar CD for one song, but this week's song is one of those instances where it was worth it. I bought the soundtrack from the movie whence it came, and truthfully couldn't tell you about another song on it...but after listening to our tune of the week during my half-assed research it sounded just as good as it did back when I first heard it in the movie Desperado.
I was kind of at a loss as to how to proceed on this week's bio, as the song is a one-off for both Antonio Banderas and Los Lobos. As I wrote about Los Lobos (sort of) in a previous Friday Night Jukebox post, I decided to go with a brief "they're still touring and recording" announcement (that's not a knock on Los Lobos who are a great band) and do a short bio of Banderas. Banderas is originally from Spain, where he began acting in the 1980's. Madonna brought him to the attention of American filmmakers, and he made his American debut in 1992. In the intervening years, Banderas has had numerous roles and managed to garner Oscar, Emmy, and Tony nominations. Near as I can tell, his performance for this week's song is the only one of his career (excluding musicals)--i.e., he's never released an album of his own material.
Fun Fact: If you've never seen Desperado, by all means do. It's one of those films I caught late at night and was surprised as hell at how good it was and have proceeded to watch numerous times over the years. It also has one of my favorite movie lines (Banderas character prays this in a church), "Give me the strength to be what I want, and forgive me for what I am."
"Cancion del Mariachi (Morena De Mi Corazon)" was not released as a single, and, surprisingly enough, appeared on the album Desperado: The Soundtrack (nice touch to call it Desperado: The Soundtrack as opposed to...the soundtrack to Desperado). Near as I can tell, the album did not hit the charts, though Los Lobos did win a Grammy Award for the closing song on the album, "Mariachi Suite."
Written by Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, "Cancion del Mariachi" opens the movie giving us a glimpse of El Mariachi (Banderas' character) before a drug lord killed the woman he loved and shot his hand so he could never play the guitar again. Banderas gives an impassioned performance as a man who loves his guitar, a good drink, and his brown skinned girl--and Los Lobos just nails the song instrumentally (the guitars are just to die for--especially the solo). It's another fine example of how often musical forces inexplicably come together and make magic--and "Cancion del Mariachi" is nothing short of magical.
Lyric Sheet: "Ay, ay, ay, ay/Ay, ay amor/Ay, mi morena de mi corazon..."
Enjoy:
Republicans = Losers
Peace,
emaycee
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