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LT → Spanish, English → Óscar Chávez → El Mexicano tatuado → English
  • Óscar Chávez
    Óscar Chávez – El Mexicano tatuado

    English translation

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Proofreading requested
Spanish
Original lyrics

El Mexicano tatuado

Mexicano de nacencia, criado de puro milagro,
el mentado de Oscar Chávez cogió un barquichuelo
para irse al mar, pero antes de embarcarse
en su porfiada aventura, aliño bien su equipaje
y se hizo un tatuaje muy original.
 
[Hablando]1
 
El tatuaje que presume Oscar Chávez en su piel,
es el mapa mexicano dibujado con toditas las de ley.
Tiene volcanes y lagos, bosques, rios y cañadas
y hasta las palmas de coco que extienden sus alas
por todas las playas.
 
[Hablando]2
 
Me contó antes de morirse, un tal Eduardo del Rio,
que el mexicano tatuado subió fascinado al cerro de la cruz
y en las fiestas de noviembre, al calor de los velorios,
se echo cuatro farolazos y de un tequilazo le dio un patatús.
 
[Hablando]3
 
Siento un espasmo en Chihuahua, como infarto en Yucatán,
hay chorrillo en Tamaulipas y por Sinaloa acá en Culiacán,
Pulmonia en California, en la norte y en la sur,
fístulas en Guanajuato y harta insuficiencia aquí en Veracruz,
 
Me duele mucho Guerrero, Puebla me hace hasta rezar,
en San Luis tengo gastritis se me frunce el píloro aquí en Michoacan,
Chiapas la siento muy bien, Oaxaca late un poquito,
en Tlaxcala tengo quistes, lo que no soporto es el pinche distrito.
 
En Colima tengo anginas, Nuevo León ya se pudrió,
en Nayarit temblorinas, muy alta la fiebre en Quintana Roo.
 
Sonora esta constipado, en Zacatecas hay reuma,
Morelos se desenguaza en Coahuila siento algo como espuma,
en el Estado de México siento como una prisión
es un cólico Campeche y en Aguascalientes no tengo riñon,
 
Jalisco hiede a tequila, en Hidalgo hay sequedad,
en Querétaro hay agruras yo creo es mi estado dicen de ebriedad,
Tabasco provoca asco, Durango es un callo interno,
pero lo que mas me chinga es la pinche vasca que me da el gobierno.
 
Ay doctores, PRIchinguitis revuelta con PANcreatitis
o tal vez es PRDitis que se me arrejunta con esta cistitis.
 
  • 1. I'm not going to transcribe this part, but he asks the tattoo artist for a rose with thorns and the artist gives him prices, then he asks for a mermaid but ends up asking for the entire map of Mexico. The tattoo artist is baffled but he tells him to do it anyway even if it's expensive.
  • 2. The tattoo artist is proud of his work, he included every little detail.
  • 3. In a "reporter" voice, a man explains that Chávez was thrown in the mad house and that the doctors saw his tattoo...
English
Translation

The Tattooed Mexican Man

Mexican from birth, it's a miracle that he got to where he is,
the famous Oscar Chavez got on a little boat
to go out to sea, but before boarding
in his stubborn venture, he packed his luggage well
and he got a very original tattoo.
 
[Spoken]
 
The tattoo that Oscar Chavez displays
is of the map of Mexico, drawn with every little detail,
it has volcanoes and lakes, forests, rivers and ravines
and even the coconut palm trees extend through
all of the beaches.
 
[Spoken]
 
Before he died, a man named Eduardo del Rio1 told me
that the tattooed Mexican man went to the Cerro de la Cruz fascinated,
and in the November festivals; in the heat of the vigils,
he drank four stiff drinks and he had almost keeled over
from binging on tequila.
 
[Spoken]
 
I feel a spasm in Chihuahua, a heart attack in Yucatan
I have the runs in Tamaulipas and through Sinaloa here in Culiacan,
Pneumonia in California, in the north and the south,
fistulas in Guanajuato and I've had enough in Veracruz.
 
Guerrero hurts so much, Puebla has me keeled over,
in San Luis I have gastritis, the pylorus starts from here in Michoacan,
I feel well in Chiapas, Oaxaca pulsates a bit,
in Tlaxcala I have cysts, what I can't stand is the District.2
 
In Colima I have tonsilitis, Nuevo Leon already rotted away,
in Nayarit I have tremors, in Quintana Roo a very high fever.
 
In Sonora I'm constipated, in Zacatecas I have rheumatism,
in Morelos I'm all scraped up, in Coahuila I feel something foamy,
in the State of Mexico I feel like a prison
I have a colic in Campeche and in Aguascalientes I have no kidney.
 
Jalisco reeks of tequila, there's dryness in Hidalgo
in Queretaro there's sourness, they call it intoxication in my state,
Tabasco gives me nausea, in Durango I've got an internal callus
put what pisses me off the most is what the government gives me.
 
Oh doctors, it's PRI3 chinguitis
covered in PAN4creatitis
or maybe PRD5itis along with this cystitis.
 
  • 1. Eduardo Humberto del Río García better known by his pen name Rius, was a Mexican intellectual, political cartoonist and writer born in Zamora, Michoacán. [Reference]
  • 2. Can mean "I can't bear the pain" or simply "I hate the Federal District".
  • 3. "Partido Revolucionario Institucional" (Eng. "The Institutional Revolutionary Party") is a Mexican political party founded in 1929, that held power uninterruptedly in the country for 71 years from 1929 to 2000, first as the National Revolutionary Party, then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution. [Reference]
  • 4. "Partido Acción Naciona" (Eng. "The National Action Party") founded in 1939, is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. [Refernece]
  • 5. "Partido de la Revolución Democrática" (Eng. "Party of the Democratic Revolution") is a social democratic political party that is one of the three major political parties in Mexico. [Reference]
The author of translation requested proofreading.
It means that he/she will be happy to receive corrections, suggestions etc about the translation.
If you are proficient in both languages of the language pair, you are welcome to leave your comments.
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Comments
tdwarmstdwarms    Sat, 04/11/2017 - 04:50

It might be a good idea for an English audience to leave footnotes to the acronyms of the parties. :)

"PRIchinguitis" -> "PRI" -> "Partido Revolucionario Institucional"
"PANcreatitis" -> "PAN" -> "Partido Acción Nacional"
"PRDitis" -> "PRD" -> "Partido de la Revolución Democrática"

Also, I'm curious why you redacted parts with asterisks?

bidxaa'bidxaa'
   Sat, 04/11/2017 - 04:52

It's a work in progress, this has been sitting on my computer for a good while and I'm still translating it. I've yet to add any footnotes, since it's not done yet. If you spot any more, let me know.

tdwarmstdwarms    Sat, 04/11/2017 - 04:52

Gotcha. Sure, feel free to make use of any comments that you find helpful! :)

bidxaa'bidxaa'
   Sat, 04/11/2017 - 05:20

Oscar Chavez is the singer in the song, he's talking about himself. The song pretty much makes fun of every state by comparing it to an ailment :)

tdwarmstdwarms    Sat, 04/11/2017 - 05:21

Please just take anything I say with a grain of salt until it's been gone over by a native Spanish speaker from Mexico.

Yes, "aliñó bien su equipaje" -> "he packed his luggage well"

"cañada" -> arroyo

"rezar" -> "to pray" but "beg" might not be bad either

"las palmas de coco que extienden sus alas" -> "the palm trees that spread their wings" (i.e. palms, branches)

"subió fascinado al cerro de la cruz" -> "he went up amazed at the hill of the cross" (I suspect this is an idiom.)

"en las fiestas de noviembre, al calor de los velorios" -> "in the festivals of November, in the heat of the vigils"

"acá en Culiacán" -> over there in Culiacán" (city in the state of Sinaloa)

At "Oaxaca," I hear him pronounce it like "guácala" -> "yuck" or "ewww," but that might just be me.

"ebriedad" -> drunkenness

"un callo interno" -> "an internal callus"

"la pinche vasca que me da el gobierno" -> "the goddamn Basque woman that gave me the governor" (i.e. former president Vicente Fox's mother, who was Basque)

bidxaa'bidxaa'
   Sat, 04/11/2017 - 05:32

cañada is actually "ravines" here.
"rezar" is used here as if he's going on his knees or bending over from the pain.
I don't know what you call the part of the palm tree (leaves?) that look like wings, that's why he uses "alas" to describe them. He means that they extend all the way out.

The only "Cerro de la cruz" that I know of is in a small town or the one in Guatemala.
"Oaxaca" is correct, I say it "Guajaca" too because that's how my parents pronounce it (as opposed to "Woo-ah-ha-ka" as it should be).

The other three I'm unsure of. I'll wait on the user I mentioned in my comments section to clarify that, since he usually corrects me when I'm not sure about the meaning of words like this. Thank you though for the suggestions, I'll think this over again later today, my brain has had enough of this for now.

tdwarmstdwarms    Sat, 04/11/2017 - 05:39

I would say that "arroyo" is the same as "ravine," it just depends on which part of the U.S. you're in. Where I live, "arroyo" is way more common than the English "ravine." But fair enough.

I understand "Puebla me hace hasta rezar" to mean that Puebla hurts him enough to make him want to pray (for the pain to go away). But begging works as well. :)

I agree that he's saying "Oaxaca," but I think by saying "Oaxaca late" he's making a pun on "guácala," which sounds nearly the same.

Anyways, that's what I meant by my notes, but by all means they should be checked by the other user you mentioned! :D

Great song too! Thanks for sharing it!

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