Today’s song – Mucho Corazon
Is a Bolero written and popularized by Benny Moore,
Go here for the video to listen to while you read this post
There is a general consensus
That the first Latin American Bolero
Was popularized in 1895
By Cuban troubador José Pepe Sánchez
With his song Tristeza.
The Bolero contains two phrases of sixteen bars,
A guitar instrumental between them,
The words are emotionally romantic,
Of love,
Adoration,
Lament,
Unrequited love,
Sadness.
The striking differences
Between the Latin and Spanish Boleros,
Are the Latin 2/4 vs the Spanish 3/4 time,
The style of dancing,
Where the Spanish dance apart,
The Latin American dancers hug close.
The Bolero is influenced by African rhythm,
Believed to have been born of the Cuban danzon,
But much slower, with a theme
That is altogether romantic.
The Bolero spread to Puerto Rico and the Carribean
Then rapidly throughout Latin America
Following the composition of Aquellos Ojos Verdes,
The first Bolero to obtain international fame.
With the help of radio, in the 1940’s,
The golden age of the Bolero was born,
Giving birth to the felin (feeling) genre of Cuba,
Where singers would let all emotions out
In melodramatic, exaggerated expression and voice.
Brought to Mexico in the late 1800’s
The Bolero lent itself well
To a new, Mexican version of the dance.
In the early 1920’s the Mexican Bolero took off
With the compositions of Augustin Lara,
Considered to be the foremost Mexican Bolero composer,
Who wrote over 160 Boleros
While creating a new musical style,
32 instead of 16 bars,
Divided in two parts,
The first in minor tones
The second in major tones.
Along with lyrics admiring
The individual body parts,
The eyes, the mouth, the voice
The rhythm of movement.
Lara, and composer and singer Rafael Hernandez
Top the list of Bolero composers to this day in Mexico,
But many were to follow.
The 1940’s brought the Bolero to the forefront again
With the work of Los Panchos, and Armando Manzanero
Whose style followed that of Augustin Lara,
Then later with Benny Moore,
Whose song Mucho Corazon is our song for today.
If you want to know how to dance to the bolero, try this:
Men, hold your woman by the waist,
Women, place your left arm on your man’s chest,
Create a little distance, but not too much,
More of a tension between you.
Hug your partner close,
Turn right, rhythmically and with expression,
Then forward, then back.
Use the dance as an dual artistic expression
Of an amorous ritual.
Go here for the video of Benny Moore’s song
Mucho Corazon
Di si encontraste en mi pasado
…….Tell if you found in my past
Una razón para quererme
…….A reason for loving me
O para olvidarme..
…….Or forgetting me
Pides cariño,
…….You ask for affection,
pides olvido
……you ask to forget
Si te conviene.
…….If that suits you
No llames corazón
…….don’t call heart
Lo que tú tienes…
…….To what you have
De mi pasado
…….Of my past
Preguntas todo
…….You ask everything
Que cómo fue;
…….That how it was,
Si antes de amar
…….before loving
Debe tenerse fe;
…….one must have faith
Dar por un querer
…….To give for a love
La vida misma sin morir
…….the very life without death
Eso es cariño
…….That is love
No lo que hay en ti…
…….Not what is inside you
Yo para querer
…….In order to love
No necesito una razón
…….don’t need a reason
Me sobra mucho,
…….I have too much
Pero mucho corazón…
…….But too much heart
Other songs to practice singing in Spanish with are listed on this page:
Singing in Spanish
© 2009