Lamento Borincano

"Lamento Borincano"
Single by Rafael Hernández Marín
Released 1929
Format
  • 7-inch single
Recorded 1929
Genre bolero
Length 06:37
Label Sony Discos
Writer(s) Rafael Hernández Marín
Producer(s) Fernandito Álvarez[1]

"Lamento Borincano" (English: Puerto Rican Mourning) is a patriotic composition by Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández Marín. It was written in 1929 and is one of Hernández Marín greatest works. The song describes the economic situation that had engulfed the Puerto Rican farmer in the 1920s' Puerto Rico. Almost immediately after its release the song became a hit in Puerto Rico and América Latina. It has been interpreted by dozens of artists from as many countries.

History

The song was composed in 1929 while Hernandez Marín lived in New York City, in Spanish Harlem. That same year, he also wrote his masterpiece, "Preciosa". In 1947, Hernández returned to Puerto Rico and to become orchestra director at the government-owned WIPR Radio.[2][3] Lamento Borincano was interpreted by dozens of artists and became an important part of Puerto Rican culture.[4]

In 1929, 17-year-old Davilita met Rafael Hernández by chance. Davilita got along quite well with Hernández Marín and was able to see the unfinished version of Hernandez's "Lamento Borincano". Davilita asked Hernandez if he could record the song but, Hernandez thought that Davilita was too young and declined his request. The song was to be recorded by Ramon "Canario" Quiroz with Davilita and Fausto Delgado as back-ups. However, fate had a different plan: Quiroz became ill on the day of the recording and Davilita ended up doing the recording as the lead voice.[5]

Theme

The song reflects the economic situation of the poor farmers in the Puerto Rico during the 1920s years leading to the Great Depression. The song starts with a cheerful and optimistic tone, presenting the jibarito, (a self-subsistence farmer descendant from the taino, Spaniards and/or African people, who is the iconic reflection of the Puerto Rican people of the day. The jibarito was a farmer-salesman who heads to town to sell his load of fruits and vegetables. Disappointed to see the poverty that in town and unable to seel his load, the jibarito returns home with his load unsold. The song does not name Puerto Rico by its modern name, instaed uses its former pre-Columbian name "Borinquen".[6]

Chorus

The chorus reads,
Borinquen! La tierra del Edén
la que al cantar, el gran Gautier
llamo la perla de los mares
ahora que tú te mueres con tus pesares
déjame que te cante yo también
(English: Borinquen! The land of the Eden/The one that when sung, by the great Gautier/He called the Pearl of the Seas/Now that you lay dying from your sorrows/Let me sing to you also.)
however, though Rafael Hernández names the Puerto Rican poet José Gautier Benítez, some artists who have recorded the song replace his name with the word "Gotier" in place of Gautier.

Recordings

External audio
You may listen to Luciano Quiñones piano interpretation of Hernandez' "Lamento Borincano" here

Following is a partial listing of recordings of the song by artists.


References

  1. ↑ Cumple 60 ‘En mi Viejo San Juan’. Miguel López Ortiz. Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular. 25 August 2006.
  2. ↑ Hernandez Marin, Rafael
  3. ↑ Rafael Hernández Marín. Encyclopedia Puerto Rico. 6 February 2014.
  4. ↑ History of Puerto Rico.
  5. ↑ music of Puerto Rico
  6. ↑ Preciosa: The People, History, and Music of Puerto Rico. Mark U. Reimer. Christopher Newport University. Proceedings of the May 2010 Conference of the Global Awareness Society International in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Page 11. May 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2014.

External links