Malagueña Salerosa (La Malagueña)

Album: various (1950)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is a well-known Son Huasteco or Huapango song from Mexico of unknown authorship. The singer is telling a Spanish woman (from Málaga) how beautiful she is. He wants to be her lover but understands he is unlikely to attract her as he is too poor.
  • The song has been covered hundreds times by various recording artists, including Plácido Domingo, José Feliciano and Trini Lopez. In 1963 Kathy Kirby had a Top 20 UK hit "You're the One" with English lyrics set to the melody of "Malagueña Salerosa."
  • Avenged Sevenfold covered the tune in 2017. "It's always been one of our favorite songs," frontman M. Shadows told Billboard magazine. "It can be done so many ways, and it has a rich history in Mexico. I remember traveling to Mexico with friends and always hearing it and being blown away by the guitar work. It felt like we could make it our own just by the arrangement of the guitars."
  • Avenged Sevenfold originally intended to translate the song into English. Shadows explained why he and the rest of the band they changed their minds. "I felt (translating) it took away some of the romantic aspects," he said. "I worked very hard on making sure my Spanish was passable. I didn't want to be the one to screw up the song by sounding like the non -Spanish speaking guy that I am."
  • Film director Robert Rodriguez's Mexican rock outfit Chingon contributed a version of the song to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 2. A live performance by the band was also included on the film's DVD release.

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