"Lamento Borincano" ('Puerto Rican Lament') is

Rafael Hernández Marín Rafael Hernández Marín (October 24, 1892 – December 11, 1965) was a Puerto Rican songwriter, author of hundreds of popular songs in the Latin American repertoire. He specialized in Puerto Rican styles such as the canción, bolero and guaracha ...

's acclaimed composition in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

's patriotic tradition. It takes its name from the free musical form

Lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about somethin ...

(

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, ''lāmentor''), and from

Borinquen Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, an indigenous name for the island. Hernández released the song in 1929 to illustrate the economic precariousness that had engulfed the Puerto Rican farmer since the late-1920s'

. It became an instantaneous hit in Puerto Rico and its popularity soon followed in many

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

countries. Renowned international artists have sung it and featured it in their repertoire. In 2018, the original 1930 recording of the song by Canario y Su Grupo was selected for preservation in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."

History

Hernandez composed the song while he lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, in

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fif ...

. That same year, he also wrote his masterpiece, " Preciosa". In 1947, Hernández returned to Puerto Rico to become an orchestra director at the government-owned WIPR Radio. "Lamento Borincano" was interpreted by dozens of artists and became an important part of Puerto Rican culture. 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 bandleader Manuel "Canario" Jiménez and his band. A musician named Ramon Quiroz became ill on the day of the recording, so Davilita ended up as lead vocals, with Fausto Delgado on backup.

Theme

The song reflects the economic situation of the poor farmers in the Puerto Rico of the 1920s leading to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. The song starts with a cheerful and optimistic tone, presenting the . The (diminutive of ''jíbaro'') is a self-subsistence farmer and descendant of the intermixing of

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

and

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...

during the 16th century, who is the iconic reflection of the

Puerto Rican people Puerto Ricans ( es, Puertorriqueños; or boricuas) are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants. Overview The culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred t ...

of the day. The was a farmer-salesman who would also grow enough crops to sell in the town in order to purchase clothing and other goods for his family. The song speaks of the walking with his mare loaded with fruits and vegetables from his plot of land and heading to town to sell his load, but, disappointed to see the poverty prevalent even in town and unable to sell his load, the returns home with his load unsold. The song thus ends with a sad, melancholic tone. The song does not name Puerto Rico by its modern name, instead using its former pre-Columbian name, ''

''.''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.

Chorus

The chorus reads, Though Rafael Hernández names the Puerto Rican poet

José Gautier Benítez José Martín Antonio Gautier Benítez (April 12, 1848 – January 24, 1880) was a Puerto Rican poet of the Romantic Era. Early years Gautier Benítez was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico to Rodulfo Gautier and the Puerto Rican poet, Alejandri ...

, some artists who have recorded the song have replaced his name with the word ''Gotier'' in place of ''Gautier''.

Recordings

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

Marco Antonio Muñiz Marco Antonio Muñiz (born 3 March 1933) is a Mexican singer from Jalisco, Mexico. Known all over Latin America, he also acted in the 1965 film ''Sinful'' (Spanish: El Pecador). He belongs to the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Early life and caree ...

. Los Grandes Exitos de Marco Antonio Muñiz (

RCA International RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...

, 1983) * Gilberto Monroig. Grandes Compositores, Rafael Hernandez: Volumen 3 (Polygram Records, 1994) *

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. Personalidad: 20 Exitos (

Sony Discos Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC (often referred to as Sony Music Latin) is a record label owned by Sony Music. The label focuses on artists of Latin music. History In 1979, CBS Records (now Columbia Records) ended its partnership with ...

, 2002) *

Alfonso Ortiz Tirado Alfonso Ortiz Tirado (Álamos, Sonora, 24 January 1893 – Mexico City, 7 September 1960) was an opera singer and medical doctor. His musical talent was apparently evident early in life, but he studied at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (Mexico), ...

. Original version of the song that became an immediate hit *

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(duet with

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). En Hispanoamérica *

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. Instrumental * Banda Los Escamilla. Album: La Consentida (2004) *

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* Ginamaria Hidalgo * Chelito de Castro (with

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) *

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Pedro Infante Pedro Infante Cruz (; 18 November 1917 – 15 April 1957) was a Mexican ranchera music singer and actor, whose career spanned the golden age of Mexican cinema. His popularity spread across Latin America. Infante was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa ...

* Roberto Torres *

Toña la Negra Antonia del Carmen Peregrino Álvarez (2 November 1912 – 19 November 1982), known by her stage name Toña la Negra (Toña the Black Woman), was a Mexican singer and actress of partial Haitian ancestry, known for her interpretation of boleros and ...

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('' Canto libre'', 1970) * Daniel Santos *

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y Los 5 Latinos *

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Version Rock *

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('' Valió la Pena'', 2004) *

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Instrumental *

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(with

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) *

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(with

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) (''José Feliciano y Amigos'', 2006) * Enrique Cardenas Instrumental *

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and

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in the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico special, "Romance del Cumbanchero". *

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* William Cepeda Version Bomba * Las Acevedo, a Tribute to Chavela Varga
''La Chamana.''
* Trio Los Andinos with Carmin Vega in "Los Andinos: Homenaje a Rafael Hernandez, con Carmin Vega". (2003, Disco Hit Productions)

References

External links

Latin Beat Magazine article on Lamento Borincano

Another link to the above article
{{authority control 1929 songs Songs about Puerto Rico Spanish-language songs North American anthems Boleros Sony Discos singles United States National Recording Registry recordings