Founded by Winston De La Rosa and his brother in-law Rafael Vargas, Fulanito is the first group known to combine "perico ripiao" - traditional accordion-based merengue sounds from the hills of the Dominican Republic - with modern hip-hop and rap.
While industry leaders initially questioned the commercial potential of such an unusual mix of sounds, Fulanito proved them wrong, becoming a party favorite in the U.S., the top-selling act in Colombia, and one of the most recognizable and adored Latin acts from Chile to Switzerland to Japan.
With their 1997 debut album, "El Hombre Mas Famoso de la Tierra" "(The Most Famous Man in the Land,)" Fulanito fast gained international fame with the hit singles "Guallando" ("Grinding") and "La Novela" ("The Soap Opera.") The album sold 500,000 copies, shocking even Winston and Rafael, who say they expected it to sell no more than 10,000, and hoped it would simply "help us get gigs".
"Guallando" featured 61-year-old accordionist Arsenio "El Maestro" De La Rosa's (Winston De La Rosa's Father) lightening chops, and was a surprise hit, co-opted for jingles spun endlessly in nightclubs across the hemisphere. According to Miami-based music writer Karl Ross, "Guallando" marked the first time U.S.-born Dominican performers began to mine their musical roots for inspiration. The addictive, resulting sound appeals as readily to rap fans and world music aficionados - and to many in between. Boston Globe music writer Elijah Wald called Fulanito's sound "fresh and hip, completely different from the mechanical beat of most house fusions". The word "Fulanito" means, roughly, "Little John Doe" in Spanish slang. The roots of the word lie in West Africa, where Spaniards kidnapped men and women to be brought to Spanish colonies in the New World. Among the people brought to the Spanish Caribbean were those of the Fulani nation, known in Africa as great merchants. They brought their skills of commerce with them, and eventually it was known in the Caribbean that if you wanted something done, you went to the Fulani, or business guy.
Vargas was born in the Washington Heights neighborhoods of Manhattan, Winston in the South Bronx during the beginning of the hip-hop era. They grew up in homes saturated with tradition Latin sounds, including merengue and bolero.
In the early 1990s Vargas scored an international dance/house music hit in English with "Wiggle It", recorded by his first organized group, 2 in a Room. The single sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. Vargas later joined Jose Rafael "Pickles" Fuentes and Winston "Big Win" De La Rosa who were known as the 740 BOYZ. Together as the 740 BOYZ, they went on to created a huge international hits like "SHIMMY SHAKE" and "BUMP BUMP". While hanging out at the De La Rosa household, Vargas was treated to many impromptu concerts by the elder De La Rosa, and was reminded of how excited Dominicans got when they heard the traditional old merengue sounds. Having shunned thier parents' music for most of thier lives, the BOYZ suddenly became intrigued by the idea of combining rap, hip-hop and perico ripiao. They asked the elder Arsenio De La Rosa if he would mind experimenting a bit. Soon, the accordionist and the rappers were recording "Guallando".
The song was completed in 1996, and when they played it for friends and family to test the waters, "They loved it", they said. "They went nuts". They approached several large Latin labels, and were rejected by all. "They said they didn't think it would sell anywhere outside of New York and the D.R."
Finally, they convinced thier house/dance label, Cutting Records, to press a Fulanito CD in 1997. The resulting half million in sales astounded everyone in the Latin music industry, where a mere 50,000 sold represents a gold album.
Fulanito's second album, "El Padrino" "(The Godfather)", was released in 1999. On it, Winston experimented even more, incorporating the sounds of samba and other Latin rhythms. Vargas raps about his life, about people he has known, and about having a good time. Fuentes gave his input and ideas of his life in the tough Washington Heights. They were sorry to see the title cut from "El Padrino" misinterpreted by some as glorifying gangster life, saying Their intentions were just the opposite. "The gangster dies at the end", they say. "Sure, he had a lot of money, cars, women, but none of it mattered because he was dead". Vargas says he wrote it with some of the young men he'd grown up with in mind. Another song on the album, "Mother's Day," shows a softer side of the BOYZ, as they pay tribute to their mothers.
The group's third album, The Remixes, was released in March of 2001, and contains three new songs. Their fourth album is expected in the fall of 2001. With a solid tour schedule that takes the group from North Carolina to Japan in the span of a month, Fulanito shows no signs of slowing down.
Mother's Day
Fulanito Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mami
Te dedico esta canción mamá
Por todo tu amor y comprensión y por todo tu cariño
Oh mamá
Te dedico esta canción mamá
Por todo tu amor y comprensión que hay en tu corazón
Y me engendró en su vientre 9 meses, solo en pensarlo eso me enfurece
Yo mantendré su nombre siempre en alta cima
Yo lucharé contra vientos y neblinas
Pa´ proteger la mujer que me crió, la mujer que nunca me abandonó
En este día de Madres, hoy perdón te pido si en esta vida yo un poco malo he sido
Si me perdonas yo te agradeceré
Eres en mi vida el más bonito ser
Un ser que siempre yo recordaré
Y tus días siempre los festejaré, para que exista otra en este mundo como tú, tendrá que volver a nacer
Mami, te dedico esta canción mamá
por todo tu amor y comprensión y por todo tu cariño
Oh mamá, te dedico esta canción mamá, por todo tu amor y comprensión que hay en tu corazón
Mamá, recuerdo to la lucha que pasaste
Pobresita sola con dos niños sin su padre
Me corregiste con tus manos poderosas
Y de la vida me enseñaste muchas cosas
Cosas que ahora en esta vida están pasando
Tus enseñanzas me ayudaron a esquivarlo
Aprecio todo los refranes y consejos, que tomo como guía para yo llegar a viejo
En este día de madre, yo te doy las gracias
Mil veces por las profecías y su magia
Que solo tienen todas las madres del mundo
Amor sin condición es el amor más profundo
I love you to mami, every day is Mother's Day
Y por tu vida todos los días yo celebraré
Para que exista otra en este mundo como tú, tendrá que volver a nacer
Mami, te dedico esta canción mamá
Por todo tu amor y comprensión y por todo tu cariño
Oh mamá, te dedico esta canción mamá
Por todo tu amor y comprensión que hay en tu corazón
Gracias mamá
Cómo no recordar aquellos tiempos cuando tú me corregías con tus manos poderosas
Aquellos tiempos como cuando me abriste la cabeza con una lata de leche carnation
Sólo porque yo me estaba tomando el vino de cocinar mamá
Gracias Mamá
Se que lo hacías de buena intención para que yo no saliera un alcohólico en el mañana
Y como olvidar aquel día cuando me tumbaste de la cama
Insistiendo en que fuera a la escuela
Me echaste agua fría
Me tumbaste de la cama
Y me partí con el block que alzaba la cama mamá
También aquel día
Que me hiciste un mapa en la espalda con una percha
Sólo porque le di una patada al gato y lo puse a volar por 7 minutos
Mamá
Ya que no me dejaste hablar en aquel tiempo
Quiero decirte
Que él comenzó primero
Ya que ese día me entraste como una conga y no me dejaste hablar
Mamá, ese gato me robó la carne de mi comida
Mamá
Recuerdo aquel día cuando yo me divertía
Con todos mis amiguitos de patio en patio
Jugando bola, trompo y sacolá
Y tu, mientras tu me estabas buscando con un piñón en la mano
Para amarrarme de la mata de coco
con alambre de teléfono
Sólo porque yo me estaba divirtiendo con mis amiguitos
Gracias mamá
Se que lo hacías de buena intención
Para que yo en el mañana no saliera un callejero, ambulante, un realengo
Mamá son tantas cosas que tengo para decirte
Que en éstos momentos, ya no puedo más
Mamá
Me estan votando de aquí
Lo demás te lo digo en el baile
I LOVE YOU MAMA
TE QUIERO MAMI
Every Day's Mother's Day
The song titled "Mother's Day" by Fulanito is a tribute to the love and sacrifices of mothers. It starts by dedicating the song to the singer's mother and thanking her for her unconditional love and understanding. The chorus emphasizes the singer's protectiveness towards his mother and how he would defend her against anyone who speaks ill of her. The song talks about the struggles and hardships his mother went through in raising him alone and how he remembers and appreciates the teachings and values she instilled in him. The singer asks for forgiveness for any wrongs he has done in the past and expresses his gratitude for his mother's guidance and support. The lyrics portray a deep appreciation and respect for the role that mothers play in shaping their children's lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Te dedico esta canción mamá
I dedicate this song to you, Mom
Por todo tu amor y comprensión y por todo tu cariño
For all your love, understanding, and affection
No hablen mal de mi mamá porque yo cuido con mi vida la mujer que me parió
Don't speak ill of my mom because I will protect the woman who gave birth to me with my life
Y me engendró en su vientre 9 meses, solo en pensarlo eso me enfurece
She carried me in her womb for nine months, just thinking about it makes me angry
Yo mantendré su nombre siempre en alta cima
I will always uphold her name in high esteem
Yo lucharé contra vientos y neblinas
I will fight against all obstacles to protect her
En este día de Madres, hoy perdón te pido si en esta vida yo un poco malo he sido
On this Mother's Day, I ask for your forgiveness if I have been a little bad in this life
Si me perdonas yo te agradeceré
If you forgive me, I will be grateful
Eres en mi vida el más bonito ser
You are the most beautiful person in my life
Un ser que siempre yo recordaré
A person I will always remember
Y tus días siempre los festejaré, para que exista otra en este mundo como tú, tendrá que volver a nacer
I will always celebrate your days, and for there to be another person like you in this world, they will have to be born again
Mamá, recuerdo to la lucha que pasaste
Mom, I remember all the struggles you went through
Cosas que ahora en esta vida están pasando
Things that are happening in my life now
Tus enseñanzas me ayudaron a esquivarlo
Your teachings helped me avoid them
Aprecio todo los refranes y consejos, que tomo como guía para yo llegar a viejo
I appreciate all the sayings and advice I take as a guide to getting old
En este día de madre, yo te doy las gracias
On this Mother's Day, I thank you
Que solo tienen todas las madres del mundo Amor sin condición es el amor más profundo
That only all mothers in the world have, unconditional love is the deepest love
I love you to mami, every day is Mother's Day
I love you, Mom, and every day is Mother's Day
Ya que no me dejaste hablar en aquel tiempo Quiero decirte Que él comenzó primero
Since you didn't let me talk at that time, I want to tell you that he started it first
Sólo porque yo me estaba tomando el vino de cocinar mamá
Just because I was drinking the cooking wine, Mom
Se que lo hacías de buena intención para que yo no saliera un alcohólico en el mañana
I know you did it with good intentions so I wouldn't become an alcoholic in the future
Sólo porque yo me estaba divirtiendo con mis amiguitos
Just because I was having fun with my friends
Se que lo hacías de buena intención Para que yo en el mañana no saliera un callejero, ambulante, un realengo
I know you did it with good intentions so I wouldn't become a stray, wandering person in the future
Mamá son tantas cosas que tengo para decirte Que en éstos momentos, ya no puedo más
Mom, there are so many things I want to tell you that I can't do it right now
Me estan votando de aquí Lo demás te lo digo en el baile
I'm getting kicked out of here, I'll tell you the rest at the dance
TE QUIERO MAMI
I love you, Mom
Contributed by Callie G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.