Music - Pretty Little Sky
Cielito Lindo (click here), a famous serenade composed by Quirino Mendoza y Cortés, has been claimed by Mexicans as a second national anthem, and is also known to most English-speaking Americans simply as the “ay, ay ay ay” song. It is also worth mentioning that Spaniards, Cubans, Argentines, and people from almost every other territory of the Spanish-speaking world have jealously claimed that the song originated in their particular area– which is probably more due to the enchanting nature of the ballad than to any serious historical evidence.
It has been one of my favorite songs for more than two years now, though I must admit that until recently the lyrics made very little sense to me. The words “cielito lindo” roll nicely off the tongue, though I couldn’t imagine why anyone would talk to a pretty little sky; and all the talk of contraband eyes rolling down the mountain and moles telling you not to touch them really had me confused. I honestly did not guess that it was a love ballad– if I had not done any research, I would not have known how to translate it. The English translation of the two well-known verses and the chorus is as follows:
Coming down from the brunette mountains
Are two dark eyes like robbers,
Pretty little sky
The mole you have beside your mouth
Do not give it to anyone, for it touches me,
Pretty little sky.
Ay, ay, ay ay
Sing and do not cry
For singing makes hearts happy
Pretty little sky.
The story goes that Quirino Mendoza was visiting the Andalucía region of Spain when he saw a beautiful girl with a beauty mark next to her mouth, and was inspired to write the song. In the first verse he borrowed a metaphor which had been used in local Andalusian folk ballads for many years. The Sierra Morena, or Brown Mountains, were in times past a favorite hide-out for gypsies and thieves, who according to contemporary accounts would descend upon hapless travelers and rob them of everything they owned. From here comes the comparison to the eyes of a girl, coming down from the mahogany mountains of her hair, ready to steal a man’s heart away.
The first time I can remember hearing this song in Mexico, was from a group of about ten older men and women, stopped by the side of a trail in a canyon, singing along with a guitar. This is how I will always remember it– as an uplifting ballad that is meant to be sung and not listened to, that invites people to sing out loud and take a more sunny view of life. I never found it necessary until now to actually have a recording of the song.
In listening to samples from over a hundred different recordings of Cielito Lindo recently, I quickly found out that there were many of them that I do not like. A large number of these recordings are very mariachi-fied, with a prominence of fancy trumpets and such that I really find gratuitous. Other singers try to mess too much with the rhythm of the words or the melody, thinking that somehow they will make the song newer. Still others over-interpret with very slow, wistful singing, as if somehow it were a very sad or tender song– which it is not. It is a teasing, upbeat love song, and it should be sung that way. Also amusing are a considerable number of gringo-rific recordings by North Americans trying to pronounce Spanish.
Mexico has been on my mind recently, but this is not the main reason I wanted to share this song. As the Spaniards, Cubans, Argentines, and even the goofy North Americans who have recorded the song prove, Cielito Lindo has meaning for everyone; and it can belong to anyone who carries the melody in their heart.
You may also be interested in reading the complete lyrics and translation, or Cielito Lindo haiku. I would also like to give credit to Arturo Ortega Morán from El Porvenir for his article on the topic. You can read an English translation of that article here.