"Cucurrucucú paloma" (Spanish for ''Coo-coo dove'') is a Mexican
huapango-style song written by
Tomás Méndez in 1954.
[ The title is an onomatopeic reference to the characteristic call of the mourning dove, which is evoked in the refrain. The lyrics allude to love sickness.
Over the years the song has been used in the soundtrack of several films and has gained international popularity. It initially appeared in the classic Mexican comedy '' Escuela de vagabundos''][ screened in 1955, where it was sung by the star of the film, Pedro Infante. The song also gave its name to the 1965 Mexican film '' Cucurrucucú Paloma'', directed by Miguel Delgado, in which it was performed by Lola Beltrán, who starred as "Paloma Méndez".
In Pedro Almodovar's film '' Talk to Her'' (2002) the piece is rendered by the Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso in an art-song style quite different from the ]mariachi
Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...
folk- kitsch of its original cinema presentation.The Last Sunset
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
'', '' Happy Together'', '' My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done'', '' The Five-Year Engagement'', and ''Moonlight
Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes.
Illumination
The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ful ...
''.
Since its first release on record in 1956 in a version sung by Harry Belafonte, the song has been recorded by various other popular singers, including Luis Miguel
Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...
, Rocío Dúrcal, Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...
, Miguel Aceves Mejía, Hibari Misora, Gaby Moreno, Nana Mouskouri, Julio Iglesias, Shirley Kwan, Lila Downs, Joan Baez (on her album '' Gracias a la Vida''), Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...
, and The Del Rubio Triplets
The Del Rubio Triplets were an American folk/acoustic cover band who rose to fame in the 1980s due mostly to their campy style of dress and their cover versions of songs. They earlier performed from the 1940s through the 1960s as The Boyd Triplet ...
; the refrain was also taken up by Franco Battiato in his own song "Cuccurucucù" (on '' La voce del padrone'').
In 2019, operatic tenor Juan Diego Florez
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
sang the song, accompanying himself on guitar at La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
in Milan, in a version appearing in a YouTube video that has been viewed close to 10 million times.[Archived a]
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cucurrucucu Paloma
Spanish-language songs