Boricua en la Luna
| "Boricua en la luna" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Roy Brown | |
| from the album Árboles | |
| Released | 1987 |
| Recorded | January to February 1987 |
| Genre | Folk rock, nova trova |
| Label | Lara-Yarí |
| Songwriter(s) | Juan Antonio Corretjer, Roy Brown |
"Boricua en la luna" is a popular song by Puerto Rican singer/songwriter Roy Brown. The song is based on a poem from Juan Antonio Corretjer. It was first featured on the album Árboles, from Brown and Cuban singer Silvio Rodríguez and became one of Brown's most popular songs.
On the booklet of Roy Brown's hits album Colección, he writes that the song "could've never been". Brown writes that in the late 70s, Corretjer handed him the lyrics, which he intended to be décimas, to see if Roy could come up with something. Brown, who at the time was moving to New York City, forgot about them. Several years later, when Corretjer died, Brown started looking for the décimas, but had a hard time finding them. A year later, Brown finally found them and says the music came "like a yank". However, he broke his finger playing basketball so he was unable to play it for a year. In 1987, he finally recorded it for the album Árboles.
The song tells the story of a fictional character who recalls his heritage, product of the Puerto Rican migration to New York. He tells of his parents: a working-class father from Las Marías and an aspiring singer from Aguadilla, and how they migrated to the United States looking for better opportunities, resulting in his conception and birth in the mainland. Despite their aspirations, the song tells of the struggles of Puerto Rican immigrants in the States, which results in the death of his father and the mother's failed career.
The song continues with the protagonist becoming proud of his Puerto Rican heritage, thanks to the upbringing of his grandfather. This leads him to proclaim himself as Puerto Rican, regardless of his birthplace. In the conclusion of the song, the protagonist declares himself that he would be "borincano" even if he was born on the moon. This last line is what gives the title to the song.
...
Wikipedia