In 1982, three guys from Concepción, Álvaro Henríquez, Roberto Titae Lindl, and Pancho Molina started a band called Los Dick Stones, whose set list was based on songs by Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Gene Vincent. They quickly became very popular in universities, bars, and peñas around the southern city of Concepción. Given their ambition to achieve success in the Chilean mainstream, they decided to move to the capital city of Santiago and changed their name to Los Tres. In 1988 Ángel Parra joined the band and even though Los Tres is Spanish for "the three", they decided to keep the name.
During years when culture and art began to rise again -after the cultural and night life had been reduced for almost 20 years due to the military regime that had ruled Chile since 1973-, the times were right for their music to develop and their popularity to grow. They recorded 9 albums during their first stage together, from 1982 until 2000.
In 2000 the band went into an indefinite break and its members continued their musical careers in personal projects.
On 2006 Los Tres, with the exception of Pancho Molina, announced their reunion including a show in May, the festival Vive Latino in Mexico City, and a show in Santiago de Chile. The first single Camino was already released. Their tenth album (Hágalo usted mismo) was a result of this reunion. The band is still together.
Pancho
Los Tres Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Entre latas sucias
Nunca revivió
La Venganza es dura
En Hualqui nació
Un día nublado
Nada raro en él
Era Domingo feriado
Grande fue su amor
Mina se llamaba
Sin repercusión
Partieron al alba
Pancho la miró
Al anca del caballo
Fue pasión de a dos
Casi sin palabras
Su hermano amante
Juró encontrarla
"Transar o seguir la causa"
Su padre encomendó encarcelarla
Pancho se llevó
A la Princesa incauta
Nueve meses van
Y la reina ya no es santa
Herraduras y huellas
Estacas viejas encontró
El hermano celoso
En la noche a tientas
Se desveló
Tiende a compartir
las cosas más caras
Viaja y busca en vano
el camino del Sol
Pancho se durmió
Con la bruja a cuestas
Cuando despertó
Vio unas planchas viejas
Su cuñado puso fin
A esta historia eterna
Con un fierro atravesó
A Pancho que hizo
una mueca
La mueca de terror
Cuando la vida se aleja
En un gallinero
Mina se fundió
Su hermano amante
Nunca la entendió
Con un fierro ardiente
enseguida la cegó
No sabe si fue su hermano
O su padre quien la amó
Pancho se quedó
Entre latas sucias
Siempre se quejó
"La vida es tan dura"
The song "Pancho" by Los Tres tells the tragic story of a man named Pancho and his lover Mina. Pancho was born in Hualqui and he and Mina had a passionate love affair. However, Mina's brother was very jealous of their relationship and vowed to find her. Her father ordered Mina to be imprisoned, but Pancho managed to escape with her. They lived together for nine months before Mina's brother found them, killed Pancho, and forced Mina to marry someone else. The song describes how Pancho's life ended in misery and how Mina suffered because of her family's cruelty.
The lyrics of "Pancho" by Los Tres are full of vivid imagery that depict the harsh realities of life in Chile. The "latas sucias" (dirty cans) that Pancho is left among after his death symbolize the futility and meaninglessness of his life. The fact that he is always complaining that "la vida es tan dura" (life is so hard) reveals the despair and hopelessness that he feels. The tragic fate of Pancho and Mina illustrates the destructive power of jealousy and how it can ruin lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Pancho se quedó
Pancho stayed behind, alone and forgotten
Entre latas sucias
Surrounded by dirt and refuse
Nunca revivió
He never woke up from his troubled reality
La Venganza es dura
Revenge is a harsh mistress
En Hualqui nació
He was born in Hualqui
Un día nublado
On a cloudy day
Nada raro en él
Nothing out of the ordinary in his life
Era Domingo feriado
It was a holiday Sunday
Grande fue su amor
His love was immense
Mina se llamaba
Her name was Mina
Sin repercusión
Without any consequences
Partieron al alba
They left at dawn
Pancho la miró
Pancho looked at her
Al anca del caballo
Riding on the back of a horse
Fue pasión de a dos
It was a shared passion
Casi sin palabras
With few words
Su hermano amante
His loving brother
Juró encontrarla
Promised to find her
"Transar o seguir la causa"
"Compromise or continue the fight"
Su padre encomendó encarcelarla
Their father ordered to have her jailed
Pancho se llevó
Pancho took her away
A la Princesa incauta
The naive Princess
Nueve meses van
Nine months passed
Y la reina ya no es santa
And the Queen is no longer pure
Herraduras y huellas
Horseshoes and footprints
Estacas viejas encontró
He found old stakes
El hermano celoso
The jealous brother
En la noche a tientas
In the dark, groping for clues
Se desveló
He lost sleep over it
Tiende a compartir
He tends to share
las cosas más caras
The most expensive things
Viaja y busca en vano
He searches in vain
el camino del Sol
The path to the sun
Pancho se durmió
Pancho fell asleep
Con la bruja a cuestas
With the witch on his back
Cuando despertó
When he woke up
Vio unas planchas viejas
He saw some old plates
Su cuñado puso fin
His brother-in-law put an end
A esta historia eterna
To this eternal story
Con un fierro atravesó
He pierced with an iron rod
A Pancho que hizo
To Pancho who made
una mueca
A grimace
La mueca de terror
The grimace of terror
Cuando la vida se aleja
When life slips away
En un gallinero
In a chicken coop
Mina se fundió
Mina was consumed
Su hermano amante
His loving brother
Nunca la entendió
Never understood her
Con un fierro ardiente
With a red-hot iron
enseguida la cegó
Immediately blinded her
No sabe si fue su hermano
He doesn't know if it was his brother
O su padre quien la amó
Or his father who loved her
Siempre se quejó
He always complained
"La vida es tan dura"
"Life is so hard"
Contributed by Nolan Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.