This is Chente's most famous song, the second-most sung by his fans, and a legendary rendition, one that even eclipses the original existential “My Way” of Mexico written by José Alfredo Jiménez–so why the relatively low ranking? First off, have you listened to it? It's all about Chente yelling–he seriously shortsells his vocal abilities here. Vocally fine, lyrically okay, but with a immortal melody that makes it another staple of all mariachis. Though popular, it's one of his lesser-appreciated gems.īeautiful music–flutes, violins, guitars, bright horns–anchor a man's lament about not knowing how to forget a woman's love. Starting slow, with the echoed vocals, faux weeps, and growled whispers that characterized Chente's later efforts, 1988's “Here, Between Us” marked a transition in Chente's career from the bold shouts of machismo into overwrought vulnerability that takes Chente into campy levels but makes him even more beloved by fans. With Spanish, Cuban, and Mexican flairs swirling around a song of defeat, this song was the spiritual godfather to “Estos Celos.” But the composition showed again Chente's willingness to experiment musically, even at a point in his career where he didn't need to. And, of course, the twist at the end: it's not damned love he cries for, but “your blessed love.” WIMP!įernández wasn't in any sort of creative funk in 1998, when he recorded this song as the title track for the telenoval La Mentira and for the album Entre El Amor y Yo (“Between Love and I,” itself a fabulous song that would probably be #21 on this list). Wait for the pause, the pause that serves as the cue for the crowd to yell “POR TU MALDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITO AMOR!”, which allows Chente to melt down like a schoolboy who skinned his knee–and cry he does. It's one long crying session about a man decrying the “damned love” of a woman. Of the canonical Chente songs, this is one of the lesser ones–but that's like saying Chris Mullin was one of the lesser players on the 1992 Dream Team. Kudos also to Chente for not dyeing his hair at this point of his life, and for not casting some blonde 20-something as his paramour–it's a 20-something brunette! And the greatest testament to its greatness? It's now a staple of mariachis. “Estos Celos” created a storm upon its debut–no one in ranchera had done something this simultaneously poppy and firme, something this dramatic. His most recent hit was this 2007 gem, a breathless tale of a man driven insane by jealousy that's nevertheless sweet-sounding with his tenor (deepened by age) buttressed by the dramatic pauses, by crisp guitar strums, weeping violins, and jumpy trumpets. But the genius of Chente is that he's never taken a break–as the previous list showed, the tapatío has always experimented with lyrics, production, genres, and more. 20-11įernández has such a massive canon that he could've rested on his laurels since the 1980s and still put on a hell of a show–that's how Antonio Aguilar did it. *The 20 Greatest Vicente Fernandez Songs of All Time, Nos. Enjoy, and NOW you can start hating, fanboys! And the list continues! Here will be all the obvious ones: “El Rey,” “Volver, Volver,” all the songs that turn usually taciturn Mexican men into wusses deserving of being grilled on Leykis 101.
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