Cuco Valoy: "Mariana Engracia" (What a great song!)

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This song has such a light quality to it, thanks partly to the use of acoustic guitar instead of piano; but it's not just that. The whole song floats and makes me want to float-dance lightly. I haven't been able to find anything else by this singer that I like quite as much, though there are a couple others that I enjoy. I haven't been going out salsa dancing much lately, alas, but this strikes me as a song that someone who is not involved with the dance could still enjoy.

― Rockist Scientist, Thursday, 12 December 2002 02:28 (twenty-three years ago)

six months pass...

Have you heard Cuco Valoy's Juliana? Not quite as good as Mariana Engracia, perhaps, but a lovely song nonetheless. Do you know if Mariana Engracia is based on a true story? I've been looking for a full transcript of the lyrics or any clue as to the inspiration for the song but I haven't found anything.

― Gideon Long, Friday, 11 July 2003 20:30 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't understand Spanish, unfortunately, so I can't help very much.

I hate to admit it, but I think I like the DLG cover of "Juliana" more than the original (but I do like some other Cuco Valoy salsa songs, including "Pa Gozar Contigo," which has kind of a similar feel to it as "Mariana Engracia," I think).

Why don't you try rec.music.afro-latin (rmal)?

(I'm laughing that finally one person with an enthusiasm for this song has found my thread.)

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 11 July 2003 21:05 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

Dear Rocket -

Yeah, that is one of my favorite songs. I found the album "Tiza!" (Chalk!) by Cuco Valoy and his two sons and loved that song from the start. It's too much really. And the words, as far as I can understand tear at your heart. When I played in a salsa/merengue band a few years ago, the singer Jose refused to sing the song because he thought it was too sad and he would start to cry in the middle. It seems the words tell of a story of this young female reporter for the Diario Hoy newspaper. That could be anywhere in the Spanish speaking world. She reports on a story that is forbidden and is killed as a result (". . . su vida termino.") The last part "Vamos a llorar que Dios, Mariana, te tenga en sus manos." Let's cry that God, Mariana, may take you in his hands. Too much.

― Chand, Monday, 29 September 2003 07:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I forgot all about this thread. Thanks for adding your comments and letting me know something of what the song is about. (AA, the former RS.)

― Al Andalous, Monday, 29 September 2003 12:19 (twenty-two years ago)

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