Trovadores de la Frontera

by Los Pingueinos del Norte

Overview

As a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the professional career of Ruben Castillo Juarez, Los Pinguinos del Norte recorded this collection, devoted mostly to corridos and rancheras. They particularly focused on, as the liner notes put it, "material that is specific to either Nuevo Laredo or Piedras Negras, Eagle Pass, and the vast cultural zone that stretches from small towns in Texas such as Crystal City and Carrizo Springs all the way down to the Don Martin dam area and Rosita and Monclova, Coahuila." Musically, this is unexceptional norteno, the songs sung with spirit and executed with deft instrumentation and harmonies, but melodically pretty similar. The lyrics are rather more interesting than the melodies, telling the stories of a protagonist who died in 1931 during a border conflict ("Ballad of Juan Garcia"), a race horse named Chocolate, "El Patero del Ano" ("The Smuggler of the Year"), and others who have been jailed and slain. Bilingual lyrics are printed for all of the songs, though detailed printed explanations of their roots accompany only some of the selections. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	11/06/2001
Label:	Arhoolie
UPC:	0096297902424
Rank:	150375

Tracks

1. El Corrido de Juan Garcia (The Ballad of Juan Garc¿¿a)
2. Errante Pasajero (Wandering Traveler)
3. La Atascada (The Stupid Woman)
4. El Chocolate (The Horse, Chocolate)
5. El Robo de Chocolate (The Theft of Chocolate)
6. El Patero del A¿¿o (The Smuggler of the Year)
7. Juan el Valiente (Juan, the Tough Guy)
8. Florencio Garza (Ballad of Florencio Garza)
9. Corrido de Pablo Varela (Ballad of Pablo Varela)
10. El Diez Pa' el Puente (The Dime for the Bridge)
11. Alejo Sierra (Ballad of Alejo Sierra)
12. Los Amores de la Guera
13. Arnulfo Gonz¿¿lez (Ballad of Arnulfo Gonz¿¿lez)
14. El Corrido de la Yegua Colorada (The Ballas of the Red Mare)
15. Prenda del Alma (Jewel of My Soul)
16. El Corrido de Chema Castro (The Ballad of Chema Castro)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Los Pingueinos del Norte   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Chris Strachwitz   Engineer,Producer,Cover Photo
Manuel C. Valdez   Composer
D.A.R.   Composer
Cesar Rosas   Composer
Public Domain   Composer
David Hidalgo   Composer
Conrad Lozano   Composer
Steve Berlin   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Louie Perez   Composer