Listening #15 – “Selena Medley” – Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea (2009)

Instrumentation: Vocals (Lead and backup), Trumpets, Violins, Flutes, Guitars, Vihuelas (Mexican guitar), and Guitarrones (Mexican large acoustic bass) – a typical mariachi band set-up.

Form: The song pulls from four of the popular Mexican singer Selena’s most popular hits: as a medley, it doesn’t really have a musical structure of it’s own: instead, it establishes the melody of each different song (usually with the original song’s first verse and chorus) and then transitions to the next song.

Origin/Genre: Although Selena was known as the “queen of Tejano music”, the Tejano genre itself (Mexican-Texan music) is derived from the more traditional Mexican music forms such as mariachi. This blending of the two genres by the group demonstrates the musical sharing of ideas that goes on within different genres, and the relations between a Tejano singer from the ‘90s and a modern-day all-women’s mariachi band.

Melody: The four songs all demonstrate different melodies: “Como la flor”, “Baile Esta Cumbia”, and “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” (the first, third, and fourth songs) demonstrate a peppy, upbeat melody, while “No Me Queda Mas” (the second song) is more of a ballad, which is a slower and has a more soulful melody.

Texture: Since the group is first and foremost a mariachi band, it makes sense that they have more aspects of mariachi instrumentation present than in Selena’s original songs. The lead singer still takes precedence, but the full and complex texture of the mariachi instruments are definitely present in this rendition.

Lyrics: Three of the four songs’ lyrics relate to love: in “Como la flor”, the singer relates her love to that of a wilted flower; in “No Me Queda Mas”, she says that nothing is left for her, since her lover now loves another; in “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”, the song’s title refers to the sound her heart makes when it sees the one she loves and becomes excited. This is similar to ranchera/mariachi music, in which love is also an incredibly important topic.

Personal Response: While at first I was confused as to why a mariachi band was covering a Tejano pop singer’s songs, after listening and researching, I understand the relation of Tejano music to its mariachi origins. And in addition, I appreciate the gesture by an all-women mariachi group to honor another successful Mexican woman performer. I actually enjoy their renditions more than the original Selena songs, perhaps due to the ‘background’ instruments and their more forceful presence in the mariachi group’s version. I really enjoyed being able to hear the clarity of the trumpet and violin swells during the instrumental interludes.