Spanish Club and La Cucaracha!

When we first moved into our house two years ago, one of the most annoying morning sounds was the blaring horns from catering trucks. The slang down here for the trucks is Roach Coach (because of questionable sanitation), and one in particular has a horn that blows "La Cucaracha." When I first heard THAT horn, I thought it was pretty comical.

I first heard the cockroach song in Miss Spangler's high school Spanish class and thought it was just a song about a household pest. And frankly, if Miss Spangler knew it was about anything more, she didn't convey that fact to us. Bless her heart, but she was a lousy Spanish teacher. I remember a Spanish Club meeting where we all brought food (we were culturally challenged there, so the meal probably consisted of a 'Spanish' casserole with 'Spanish' jello and 'Spanish' chocolate chip cookies?) and listened to "La Cucaracha" over and over on a record player.

When we were in Cabo, one of the waiters at Pancho's took me on a tour of all the restaurant's murals and gave me an explanation of the cockroach on the wall (I was amused by a restaurant with a cockroach mural)! According to him, the women that followed Pancho Villa's army (soldaderas who cooked and provided other services) were called 'cucarachas'. And one version of the song does made reference to them. Other explanations are that cucaracha refers to Pancho Villa himself or even his car. A lot of versions came out of that period during the Mexican Revolution.

So I had no idea that "La Cucaracha" was so complex and did some internet research! The song is a corrido, a traditional Spanish folksong. Like Yankee Doodle, The Battle Hymn of the Republic (The Burning of the School), On Top of Old Smoky, and many other folk songs, the verses have been constantly changed over the years to suit new situations and new generation's purposes. AND, one of the most popular versions actually is about marijuana -- MOTA! Now I'm wondering if we were listening to the Cheech and Chong version in Miss Spangler's Spanish II class! HA!

La cucaracha, la cucaracha
Ya no puede caminar
Porque no tiene, porque le falta
Marihuana que fumar.

English translation:

The cockroach, the cockroach
Can't walk anymore
Because it doesn't have, because it's lacking
Marijuana to smoke

And now I'm also wondering if that catering van that blows "La Cucaracha" up and down the street everyday might be selling more than energy drinks, chips, and tortas! I found this on YouTube. I think these boys must have produced this for their Spanish Club project! And I'm betting THEY get to eat tacos at their meetings! Really, after watching the entire video, who KNOWS what they're eating (smoking, drinking) at their meetings!