Noche de Ronda (The Night Watch)
To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s listen/vote to and for Agustín Lara’s very romantic bolero Noche de Ronda (The Night Watch). You can hear the song in three styles: mambo, ranchero, and trio. However, the first video includes the maestro playing his tune alone at the piano with a violin accompaniment.
The name Agustín Lara is as familiar to Spanish speakers as George Gershwin is to English speakers. He wrote 700+ songs on the every imaginable subject, but he’s best know for the love songs, boleros, he wrote for his many mistresses and wives.
He wrote Noche de Ronda for his then wife Maria Felix, Queen of the Mexican Cinema. She was a very famous actress with a cruel beauty. Each generation has an actress of her type. For me, some may argue for Angelina Jolie. For this generation, I’d pick Megan Fox.
In the song, a lover rushes anxiously to the balcony believing to hear the beloved’s footsteps; unfortunately, it’s only the night watch. The lover is broken-hearted at the thought the beloved will never show.
Agustin Lara (1935)
A song doesn’t exist that can’t be improved by a Cuban big brass sweep and conga keeping time. Here’s Machito’s great cover of this classic song that’s meant to be played low and slow. It’s sung by his sister, who basically showed future Latin America singers how it’s done.
Machito Orchestra y Graciela (1953)
This is my favorite example of the Mexican bolero ranchero. Solis recorded this song at Columbia studios in New York a couple of years before his premature death. He had to import the musicians because no one plays guitar like mariachis. The multiple guitarists get that muted rhythm by strumming the strings with a loose fists. The first few times you try it, it cuts your knuckles.
Javier Solis (1960)
We return with the most famous bolero trio Los Panchos and Eydie Gorme. The three men–two from Mexico, one from Puerto Rico–formed in New York City, yet their 40-year career turned into an international success. As for the Bronx-native, Eydie had recently turned her U.S. pop hit Blame It on the Bossa Nova into an international hit thanks to recording a Spanish version. Los Panchos visited The Copacabana to catch Eydie’s performance and fell for her dynamic presence. They asked her to record together. They became a huge cross-over hit.
Eydie Gorme y Trio Los Panchos (1964)
