Structure
The song consists of verse-and-refrain (strophe-antistrophe) pairs, with each half of each pair consisting of four lines featuring an ABCB rhyme scheme.Refrain
The song's earliest lyrics, from which its name is derived, concern a cockroach that has lost two of its six legs and struggles to walk with the remaining four. :''La ''cu''-ca- , ''ra''-''cha'', la ''cu''-ca-''ra''-''cha :, ya ''no ''pue''-de ''ca''-mi-''nar :''por-''que'' no , ''tie''-''ne'', por-''que'' le ''fal''-''tan :, las ''dos ''pa- ''titas'' "de" a-''trás''.— There are many versions of this line; the most common ones include "''una pata par' '' 'para''' andar''" ("a leg to walk n), "''la patita principal''" ("the front leg"), "''patas para caminar''" ("legs for walking"), and "(''las'') ''la pata de atrás''" (" hetwo back feet"). Versions mentioning specific numbers of legs are associated with a children's game and counting song in which participants pull the legs off a captured cockroach, singing the stanza once per leg and removing the leg as the number (increasing by one per stanza) is sung. Other versions discard any mention of the cockroach's missing leg(s) at all, substituting unrelated material (''e.g.'', the "''Marihuana pa' fumar''" of the well-known anti- Huerta version). ::("The cockroach, the cockroach / can no longer walk / because she doesn't have, because she lacks / the two hind legs to walk"; these lyrics form the basis for the refrain of most later versions. Syllables having primary stress are in boldface; syllables having secondary stress are in roman type; unstressed syllables are in italics. Measure divisions are independent of text line breaks and are indicated by vertical bar lines; note that the refrain begins with anVerses
The song's verses fit a traditional melody separate from that of the refrain but sharing the refrain's meter (either 5/4, 6/4, or 4/4 clave as discussed above). In other respects, they are highly variable, usually providing satirical commentary on contemporary political or social problems or disputes.Historical evolution
The origins of "La Cucaracha" are obscure. The lyrics of the refrain make no explicit reference to historical events, so it is difficult, if not impossible, to date them. However, because the verses are improvised according to the needs of the time, and mention contemporary social or political conditions, a rough estimate of their age can be made.Pre-Revolution lyrics
Several early (pre-Revolution) sets of lyrics exist, referring to historical events. In his book ''Cantos Populares Españoles'' (1883), Francisco Rodríguez Marín notes lyrics referring to the then recent Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–1860), which were probably developed by the troops during the campaign to boost their morale, using an existing melody: Some early versions of the lyrics refer to the confrontation between Spanish and Moroccan troops (popularly referred to as "Moors" by the Spanish) during the Hispano-Moroccan War, that reflect Spanish popular imagery during their development from 1859 to 1860.Marín, Francisco Rodríguez. ''Cantos Populares Españoles Recogidos, Ordenados e Ilustrados por Francisco Rodríguez Marín''. Sevilla: Francisco Álvarez y Ca. 1883. One of the earliest written references to the song appears in the 1819 novel ''La Quijotita y su Prima'', by Mexican writer and political journalist José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, in which it is suggested that: Other early stanzas concern events such as the Carlist Wars (1833–1876) in Spain, and the French intervention in Mexico (1861).Revolutionary lyrics
The Mexican Revolution was a period of great political upheaval, during which the majority of the stanzas known today were written. Political symbolism was a common theme in those verses, and explicit and implicit references were made to events of the conflict, major political figures, and the effects of the war on the civilians in general. Today, few pre-Revolution verses are known, and the most commonly quoted portion of the song are the two Villist anti- Huerta stanzas: That version, popular among Villist soldiers, contains hidden political meanings, as is common for revolutionary songs. The cockroach represents PresidentLa Cucaracha as a woman
Soldiering has been a profession for women in Mexico since pre-Columbian times. Among the nicknames for women warriors, and camp followers, were ''Soldaderas'', ''Adelitas'', ''Juanas'', and ''Cucarachas''. Soldiers in Porfirio Diaz's army sang "La Cucaracha" about a ''soldadera'' who wanted money to go to the bullfights. In ''Mexican Military: Myth and History'', Elizabeth Salas writes that, for the Villistas, La cucaracha' wanted money for alcohol and marijuana. She was often so drunk or stoned that she could not walk straight. Unlike corridos about male revolutionaries like Villa and Zapata, none of the well-known ''corridos'' about ''soldaderas'' give their real names or are biographical. Consequently, there are very few stanzas that ring true about women in battle or the camps."Other verses
Apart from verses making explicit or implicit reference to historical events, hundreds of other verses exist. Some are new, and others are ancient, but the lack of references and the largely oral tradition of the song, makes dating the verses difficult, if not impossible. Some examples are:Influences
In the novel ''Notes
References
External links