Los Lobos is a Mexican-American rock band from East Los Angeles, California… Read Full Bio ↴Los Lobos is a Mexican-American rock band from East Los Angeles, California, USA, heavily influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country music, folk, blues, and traditional Spanish / Mexican music such as boleros and norteño.

Vocalist/guitarist David Hidalgo and drummer Louie Pérez met at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, and bonded over their mutual affinity for obscure musical acts such as Fairport Convention, Randy Newman and Ry Cooder. Pérez recalls, "We’re looking at each other, 'You like this stuff? I thought I was the only weird one.' So I went over to his house one day for about a year, which we spent listening to records, playing guitars, and starting to write songs." The two borrowed reel-to-reel recorders from a friend and created multi-track recordings of music spanning from parody songs to free-form jazz. They later enlisted fellow students Cesar Rosas and Conrad Lozano to complete the group's line-up in 1973.

Formed in the late 1970's, band members Dave Hidalgo, Cesar Rojas, Steve Berlin, Louie Pérez and Conrad Lozano became the bellwether for Mexican-American music in the U.S. when they recorded the music for "La Bamba" in 1987, which added popular acclaim to the critical praise they had received for their 1984 album "How Will the Wolf Survive?".

They have since become one of the mainstays of the Latin music scene as well as rock music in general, staying together through over 20 albums, and for almost three decades, through changing music climate and personal tragedies, they've continued cranking out albums and touring to dedicated fans.

Maricela
Los Lobos Lyrics

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Alla en borinquen que hermosura
La tierra santa tierra pura
Fui a ganarme una fortuna
Fuena preciosa ay que dulcura

Vamos a bailar
Oye Maricela
Vamos a gosar

Esta bomba negra
Vamos a bailar
Oye Maricela
Vamos a gosar
Esta bomba negra

Alla en la isla del encanto
Orgulloso yo les canto
Con sus sierras y sus santos
Ella un placer a mi me ha dado

Vamos a bailar
Oye Maricela
Vamos a gosar
Esta bomba negra
Vamos a bailar
Oye Maricela
Vamos a gosar
Esta bomba negra Ya!

Alla en borinquen que hermosura
La tierra santa tierra pura
Fui a ganarme una fortuna
Fuena preciosa ay que dulcura

Vamos a bailar
Oye Maricela
Vamos a gosar
Esta bomba negra
Vamos a bailar
Oye Maricela
Vamos a gosar
Esta bomba negra

Alla la
Ay la, ay la, ay la, la la

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Los Lobos's song "Maricela" describe the singer's experiences on the Puerto Rican island of Borinquen, a place of beauty and purity. The singer describes going to the island to make his fortune, and being struck by the beauty and sweetness of the land and its people. He is filled with pride and joy as he sings of "bomba negra," a type of music and dance that is associated with Puerto Rican culture.

The song is a celebration of the beauty and joy of Puerto Rico, and it is full of references to the island's culture and traditions. The lyrics evoke the rhythms of bomba and other Puerto Rican music, and the singer's voice is rich and soulful as he sings about the beauty and energy of Borinquen. The song is both joyful and wistful, as the singer expresses his love for the island and its people, but also his longing to return to them.

Overall, "Maricela" is a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to Puerto Rico and its people, and it captures the spirit of the island in a way that is both celebratory and poignant.

Line by Line Meaning

Alla en borinquen que hermosura
In Puerto Rico, what a beauty.

La tierra santa tierra pura
The holy land, the pure land.

Fui a ganarme una fortuna
I went to earn a fortune.

Fuena preciosa ay que dulcura
Beautiful woman, oh what sweetness.

Vamos a bailar
Let's dance.

Oye Maricela
Listen Maricela.

Vamos a gosar
Let's enjoy ourselves.

Esta bomba negra
This black bomba (Afro-Puerto Rican dance and music style).

Alla en la isla del encanto
In the island of enchantment (Puerto Rico).

Orgulloso yo les canto
Proudly I sing to them.

Con sus sierras y sus santos
With its mountains and its saints.