Catalan singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat got involved in music at the age of 17, when he got his first guitar, to which he dedicates one of his earliest songs, "Una guitarra."
In early 60's the young artist participated in a pop band playing along with classmates at Barcelona's Agronomy School, doing mainly Beatles stuff and Italian 'pop-of-the-era' songs translated to Spanish.
In 1965, while singing in a radio show called Radioscope, host Salvador Escanilla helped him to get a record deal with local label Edigsa where he recorded his first EP, as well as became part of Els Setze Jutges, a group of Catalan artists aiming to promote a renaissance of Catalan culture after Spanish Franco's dictatorship and make it spread into popular classes.
Joan Manuel Serrat's first live stage performance in 1967 at the Catalan Music Palace, established definitely his name as one of the most important artists inside the 'Nova cançó' ('New Song') movement in Catalonia.
Next year, Spain originally entered Serrat in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 to sing "La, la, la", but he asked to sing it in Catalan, to which the Spanish authorities would not agree. This would be the first time he came into conflict with the language politics of Francoist Spain, because of his decision to sing in his native Catalan language, repressed by Franco. After the incident, Serrat was hurriedly substituted by Massiel, who won the contest with her Spanish-language version. By that time Serrat's songs were banned and his records burned in the streets. He then traveled to South America and participated in the Rio de Janeiro's World Music Festival, where he took first place with the song "Penélope."
In 1969 Serrat released an album containing songs with texts of Antonio Machado, a well known Spanish poet of late 19th-early 20th century. This album gave him immediate fame in all Spain and Latin America though, in spite of this, his decission to sing in Spanish was still criticized in some nationalistic Catalan circles.
The release of 1971's Mediterráneo LP consolidated the artist worldwide. In 1976, Joan Manuel Serrat was acclaimed for the first time in the U.S.A. while performing in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York.
In late 1974, Serrat was exiled in Mexico due to his condemnation of arbitrary executions under Franco's regime. It wasn't until Franco's death (November 20, 1975) that Serrat was able to return to his homeland.
In January of 1995, the Spanish government gave him a medal for his contribution to the Hispanic culture. That same year, a tribute album called Serrat, Eres único was made to honor his career, featuring artists such as Diego Torres, Ketama, Rosario (Flores), Joaquín Sabina, and Antonio Flores. In the year 2000, the Spanish Association of Authors and Editors (SGAE) awarded him with one of ten Medals of the Century.
In October 2004 he revealed that he had been undergoing treatment for cancer of the bladder and in November that year he cancelled a tour of Latin America and the USA in order to undergo surgery in Barcelona, where he still lives. By that time, his wonderful song "Mediterráneo" was selected as the most important song of the 20th century in Spain.
His recovery was satisfactory, and in 2005 he went on a tour again ("Serrat 100×100") around Spain and Latin America with his lifelong producer and arranger, Ricard Miralles.
A second volume of Serrat, eres único was also released this year, featuring Alejandro Sanz, Estopa, and Pasión+Vega. Around the same time, Cuban artists such as Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Chucho Valdez, and Ibrahim Ferrer came together to make another tribute CD, Cuba le canta a Serrat.
Source: Wikipedia®
La Aristocracia del Barrio
Joan Manuel Serrat Lyrics
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Parecen estar esper�ndole vecino para jugar un mano a mano a los chinos. Son la aristocracia del barrio. Lo mejor de cada casa tomando el sol en la plaza. Tienen a la madre anciana, virgen a la hermana y en las Ramblas, una que es del asunto. Un padre que muri� un d�a y la filosof�a del tapete, el compa�ero y el punto. M�renlo burlar... Sin pesta�ear... Naci� chulo y sin remedio. Pide con seis y se planta en dos y medio. Son la aristocracia del barrio. Tah�res, supersticiosos, charlatanes y orgullosos. Traficando en transistores, en encendedores, en cosm�ticos y en bisuter�a hasta que el cante de un socio les cierre el negocio como poco por seis meses y un d�a. Igual que se van reaparecer�n hechos un figur�n, pero con el color y el perfume del talego �.
Son la aristocracia del barrio. Tr�nsfugas independientes mejorando a los presentes. Si les sigue usted los pasos ver� m�s de un caso en la puerta de un Juzgado de Guardia, que por la hembra y el retaco deja hasta el tabaco y hurga en las demandas de La Vanguardia. Envejecer�n horneando pan. Cada cual muere a su modo. Qu� se va a hacer si ha de haber gente pa' todo. Y la aristocracia del barrio sentimentales y buenos en el bar, le echan de menos.
� talego ? vg. cangri
The lyrics of La aristocracia del barrio by Joan Manuel Serrat describe the social hierarchy of a neighborhood in Spain, focusing on a group of men who hang out on the street corner between the bar and the bowling alley. These men, known as "the aristocracy of the neighborhood," are identified by their flashy appearances, with jewelry, slicked back hair, and a love for both cement and hair gel. They pass the time playing Chinese checkers and waiting for their neighbor to join them. Serrat's lyrics also reveal the attitudes and behavior of this group, as they boast about their families and their ability to flirt with women. The singer implies that this group is somewhat shady, trafficking in small items like transistors, lighters, and cosmetics, and occasionally running afoul of the law. In the end, Serrat suggests that these men will inevitably grow old and die, leaving behind only memories of their glory days as the aristocrats of the neighborhood.
Overall, La aristocracia del barrio is a commentary on the complexities of social order in a small community. Serrat's lyrics paint a picture of a world in which even the smallest gestures and appearances can signify power and status. The men on the street corner may not be wealthy or influential, but they have something that sets them apart from the rest of the neighborhood, and they revel in it. At the same time, the singer suggests that this power is ultimately fleeting and ephemeral, subject to the whims of chance and the passage of time.
Line by Line Meaning
Entre el bar y la bolera rondan las aceras controlando el barrio desde una esquina.
They control the neighborhood from one corner, patrolling the sidewalks between the bar and the bowling alley.
En el índice una alhaja. El pelo a navaja. Salpicando betún y brillantina. ¡Oígalos silbar...!
With fancy rings on their fingers, hair slicked back and shiny, sprayed with hairspray and a little glitter. Hear them whistle...!
Parecen estar esperándole vecino para jugar un mano a mano a los chinos.
They seem to be waiting for a neighbor to play a game of dominoes with them.
Son la aristocracia del barrio. Lo mejor de cada casa tomando el sol en la plaza.
They are the aristocracy of the neighborhood - the best of each house, taking in the sun in the square.
Tienen a la madre anciana, virgen a la hermana y en las Ramblas, una que es del asunto.
They have an old mother, a virgin sister and, on Las Ramblas, one who is in the game.
Un padre que murió un día y la filosofía del tapete, el compañero y el punto.
A father who died one day and the philosophy of the table, the companion, and the point (dominoes).
Mírenlo burlar... Sin pestañear... Nació chulo y sin remedio.
Watch him joke around... Without blinking an eye... Born a tough guy with no cure.
Pide con seis y se planta en dos y medio. Son la aristocracia del barrio.
Asking for six and settling for two and a half. They are the aristocracy of the neighborhood.
Tahúres, supersticiosos, charlatanes y orgullosos.
Gamblers, superstitious, talkative, and proud.
Traficando en transistores, en encendedores, en cosméticos y en bisutería hasta que el cante de un socio les cierre el negocio como poco por seis meses y un día.
Dealing in radios, lighters, cosmetics and costume jewelry until the betrayal of a partner shuts down the business for at least six months and a day.
Igual que se van reaparecerán hechos un figurón, pero con el color y el perfume del talego.
Just like they disappear, they will reappear looking good, but with the color and scent of prison.
Son la aristocracia del barrio. Tránsfugas independientes mejorando a los presentes.
They are the aristocracy of the neighborhood - independent turncoats improving their status.
Si les sigue usted los pasos verá más de un caso en la puerta de un Juzgado de Guardia, que por la hembra y el retaco deja hasta el tabaco y hurga en las demandas de La Vanguardia.
If you follow in their footsteps, you will see more than one case in front of the courthouse, where the woman and the shorty leave even the tobacco and search through the demands of La Vanguardia.
Envejecerán horneando pan. Cada cual muere a su modo. Qué se va a hacer si ha de haber gente pa' todo.
They will age baking bread. Everyone dies their own way. What can you do if there has to be all kinds of people.
Y la aristocracia del barrio sentimentales y buenos en el bar, le echan de menos.
And the sentimental and kind aristocracy of the neighborhood misses him at the bar.
Contributed by Caleb T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.