She's been worthy of innumerable recognitions, awards and special mentions from the critics. Guadalupe Pineda has proved through 30 years of career that quality and purity of music are not opposed to the popular approval.
Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico Guadalupe moved to Mexico City where she got her roots since early age. After studying Sociology at the faculty of Politic Sciences (UNAM), started a career as singer in samll forums and coffee shops.
Not too many people knows that before starting to sing, Guadalupe had experience at different jobs as a real estate seller, apprentice to a mechanic and as a guitar teacher. Her first opportunity came in 1974 singing Latin America and Jewish folkloric songs. In that period she formed 2 groups: "La Propuesta" and "Sanampay", with this second one she recorded 3 discs and showcased herself for first time in the United States.
In 1980 recorded an album with Carlos Diaz "Caito" and in 1981 she formally started a solo artist career.
She took her voice to many civic squares, correctional buildings, mental health institutions, reformatories, offices and parks until in 1984, after 10 years of hard work, she recorded the track "Yolanda", also know as "Te Amo" (duet with Pablo Milanes), which conquered the hearts of all Mexico. Just in our country, the sales of the album reached million and a half copies.
Now-a-days, Guadalupe Pineda has a discography of 22 albums, with at least the latest 4 produced by herself as an independent artist. She has received Gold and Platinum certifications with some of her albums due to high sales, including a Double Platinum certification for her album "Arias de Opera" (2004).
Her voice has transcended Mexican frontiers, she has been included in national and foreign movies and also has been part of important collections such as "Buddha-bar" of France, or the "Monte Carlo" Italian collection, that have been edited and released all over the world.
Her albums have been released in countries as far as Japan and she has performed on stage around the world (United States, Ireland, Spain, Italy, France, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Central and South America). Her most recent shows took place at Paris in 2005, and at the historic Argentinian opera house, "Teatro Colon of Buenos Aires" in November of 2006.
There have been also shows at some of the more important and recognized forums in Mexico, like "El Palacio de Bellas Artes", "Sala Nezahualcoyotl", "Teatro de la Ciudad de Mexico" (which was restored in 1985), "El Teatro Degollado", "El Teatro Juarez", and forums of the "Cervantino" festival, as well in the most representative and famous civic square of the country, the "Zocalo de la Ciudad de Mexico". All these places have been witness to the art of Guadalupe and the great love from her public.
Mi México de Ayer
Guadalupe Pineda Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
tenía su anafre en la banqueta,
su comal negro y limpio,
freía tamales
en la manteca
y gorditas de masa,
piloncillo y canela,
al salir de mi casa
para la escuela.
Por la tarde a las calles,
sacaban mesas
limpias, viejitas,
nos vendían sus natillas,
arroz de leche
en sus cazuelitas;
rica capirotada,
tejocotes en miel
y en la noche un atole
tan champurrado
que ya no hay de el.
Estas cosas hermosas,
por que yo así las ví,
ya no están en mi tierra,
ya no están más aquí.
Hoy mi México es bello,
como nunca lo fue,
pero cuando era niño
tenía mi México
un no se qué...
Empedradas sus calles
eran tranquilas,
bellas y quietas
los pregones rasgaban
el aire limpio,
vendían cubetas,
tierra pa'las macetas,
la melcocha, la miel,
chichicuilotes vivos,
mezcal en penca
y el aguamiel.
Al pasar los soldados
salía la gente
a mirar inquieta,
hasta el tren de mulitas
se detenía oyendo la trompeta.
Las calandrias paraban,
sólo el viejito fiel
que vendía azucarillos
improvisaba el verso aquel:
"Azucarillos de a medio y de a real,
para los niños qui queran mercar..."
Estas cosas hermosas,
por que yo así las ví,
ya no están en mi tierra,
ya no están más aquí.
Hoy mi México es bello,
como nunca lo fue,
pero cuando era niño
tenía mi México
un no se qué...
The lyrics of Guadalupe Pineda's song Mi México de Ayer are full of nostalgia about the simple pleasures of life in Mexico that the singer remembers from her childhood. The song is a tribute to the way things used to be in Mexico, before the modern world took over and changed everything. The first verse describes a street vendor who made delicious tamales and other treats on her anafre, a small portable stove, and sold them to the children on their way to school. The second verse paints a picture of another type of vendor who sold sweet puddings, rice puddings, and other traditional desserts on the street. The third verse talks about how the streets used to be paved with stones, how the vendors sold a variety of strange and wonderful things, and how even the soldiers who marched through town were a source of excitement and entertainment for the people.
Overall, the song is a lament for a lost time and a lost way of life. It suggests that the modern world has deprived Mexico of some of its charm and character. The singer feels that something has been lost that can never be recovered, and she longs for the days when life was simpler and more enjoyable. The nostalgia in the song is palpable, and it evokes a sense of wistfulness and yearning for a more innocent time.
Line by Line Meaning
Una indita muy chula,
There was a beautiful indigenous woman,
tenía su anafre en la banqueta,
who had her stove on the sidewalk,
su comal negro y limpio,
with her clean and dark cooking griddle,
freía tamales en la manteca
making tamales fried in lard,
y gorditas de masa,
and thick corn cakes,
piloncillo y canela,
with brown sugar and cinnamon,
al salir de mi casa compraba un quinto para la escuela.
Every time I left my house, I bought a small bottle of alcohol for school.
Por la tarde a las calles, sacaban mesas limpias, viejitas,
In the afternoon, they brought out old, clean tables to the streets,
nos vendían sus natillas, arroz de leche en sus cazuelitas;
and sold us their delicious puddings, and rice pudding in their pots;
rica capirotada, tejocotes en miel
sweet capirotada, candied tejocotes in honey,
y en la noche un atole tan champurrado que ya no hay de el.
And at night, such rich and thick atole that there is none like it anymore.
Estas cosas hermosas, por que yo así las ví,
These beautiful things as I saw them,
ya no están en mi tierra, ya no están más aquí.
are no longer in my homeland, they no longer exist.
Hoy mi México es bello, como nunca lo fue,
Today my Mexico is beautiful, like it never was before,
pero cuando era niño tenía mi México un no se qué...
but when I was a child, my Mexico had an unexplainable something...
Empedradas sus calles eran tranquilas, bellas y quietas
The streets, paved with stones, were calm and quiet,
los pregones rasgaban el aire limpio, vendían cubetas,
advertisements pierced the clean air, they sold buckets,
tierra pa'las macetas, la melcocha, la miel,
dirt for the pots, and sweet candies made of honey,
chichicuilotes vivos, mezcal en penca y el aguamiel.
Live worms of chichicuilotes, mezcal and aguamiel.
Al pasar los soldados salía la gente a mirar inquieta,
When the soldiers passed by, people nervously stared,
hasta el tren de mulitas se detenía oyendo la trompeta.
even the mule train stopped to hear the trumpet.
Las calandrias paraban, sólo el viejito fiel
The horse-drawn carriages stopped, only the faithful old man
que vendía azucarillos improvisaba el verso aquel:
who sold candy improvised the following verse:
"Azucarillos de a medio y de a real, para los niños qui queran mercar..."
"Half or full sugar cubes, for children who want to buy..."
Estas cosas hermosas, por que yo así las ví,
These beautiful things as I saw them,
ya no están en mi tierra, ya no están más aquí.
are no longer in my homeland, they no longer exist.
Hoy mi México es bello, como nunca lo fue,
Today my Mexico is beautiful, like it never was before,
pero cuando era niño tenía mi México un no se qué...
but when I was a child, my Mexico had an unexplainable something...
Writer(s): Salvador Flores Rivera
Contributed by Adam Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
adolfo garcia
Una canción distinta de lo habitual, preciosa mujer con una gran voz ❤️👍
Juana Ramírez
Hermosa canción 🇲🇽 💢💢💢💢❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ México lindo y querido!!
Marisela
Que linda letra es la primera ves que la escucho y la interpretacio con tanta ternura.
David Hernandez
como cuantos años tendría aquí la pineda....voz muy fresca, bonita
rosario ramirez salazar
Letra de mi México de ayer