Roberto Roena has also been a long-time member of the Fania All Stars, the showcase group for the Fania Records label, which has enjoyed worldwide success since the 1970s. He recorded his signature song, "Coro Miyare", with the group; live performances of the song featured Roena playing the bongos and dancing with his uncle, legendary salsa dancer Aníbal Vázquez, in a choreographed section that almost always received standing ovations from the audience.
Mr. Roena took a giant step in the fusion of salsa with jazz, in the 1970s, by joining forces with African superstar (saxophonist) Manu Dibango of "Soul Makossa" fame.
Even without knowing how to read or write music, and probably because of it, Roena knew how to surround himself with excellent musicians and arrangers. "Apollo Sound" featured musicians from the ensemble of Tito Puente, "Cortijo y Su Combo", "El Gran Combo" and "Los Sunsets", among others. Some of the well renowned arrangers and composers who nourished his repertoire were Mario Ortiz, Bobby Valentín, Elias Lopés, Luis “Perico” Ortiz and Papo Lucca. With "Apollo Sound", Roberto introduced a “new” sound to salsa music by utilizing two trumpets, a trombone and a saxophone, a combination he took from the influence of the wind section of the rock group Blood, Sweat and Tears (in honor of which his band recorded a successful version of “Spinning Wheel”).
Roberto always considered variety as the key to success, leading him to include in his musical repertoire everything from go-go to the romantic, the same in English as in Spanish. Roberto Roena and his Apollo Sound’s first album produced hits of great impact like “Tú loco loco y yo tranquilo,” “El escapulario,” and “El sordo.” In fact, it was Apollo Sound who popularized the Bobby Capó classic, “Soñando con Puerto Rico.”
Apollo Sound recorded under the label International Records (a subsidiary of Fania) for a decade, in which they harvested successes like “Traición,” “Chotorro,” “Mi Desengaño,” “Fea,” “Marejada feliz,” “Cui cui,” and “El progreso,” among others. His popularity on the radio waves came accompanied with tours around the United States and Latin America.
Complementing the musicality of the salsa group was always the showmanship inherent in Roberto Roena. Dying his hair in new colors, playing percussion in his underwear and sporting a harness so he could “fly” around the stage of New York City's Madison Square Garden were some of the tricks that he used to stand out among the other groups in vogue. In fact, a noted journalist that followed Apollo Sound once remarked that they were “the first group in Puerto Rico with a system of psychedelic lights and go-go girls.”
Beginning in the 1980s, Roberto Roena and his Apollo Sound experienced a fade in popularity, reflecting a crisis that was sweeping through the salsa movement in general. Nevertheless, Roberto maintained himself by collaborating and recording independently with local groups. In 1990, Roena tried to revive the concept of Apollo Sound. He opened a concert for British rock singer Sting at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, where he presented his hit salsa version of "Every Breath You Take" (with an amused Sting watching from the sidelines).
In 1994, he celebrated 25 years with his orchestra in a successful concert at the Centro de Bellas Artes in San Juan. This performance was recorded and released, validating his music for a new generation.
Traición
Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Como a un Dios yo te adoré
Te quería tanto, tanto
Te tenía tanta fe
Nunca pude imaginar
Que llegará la traición
La traición que ha desangrado
Y me ha roto el corazón
Tú matastes mi cariño
Con una cruel traición
Para ti yo fui un juguete
Sin valor ni corazón
Pero el día llegará
En que pagues tu traición
Y con lágrimas de sangre
Llorarás igual que yo
(Llorarás igual que yo) oye, me destrozastes el corazón
(Llorarás igual que yo) algun día pagarás por tu traición
(Llorarás igual que yo) fuiste mala, mala mujer
(Llorarás igual que yo) yo te tuve un altar, como a un Dios yo te adoré
(Llorarás igual que yo) aunque me sigas rogando mujer
Ya no te vuelvo a querer, (llorarás igual que yo) porque eres mala
Mala, mala, mala, mala y bandolera (llorarás igual que yo)
(Llorarás igual que yo) ma-malita, malita, malita, malita, mamá
(Llorarás igual que yo) oye, ya no te quiero, ya no te adoro
(Llorarás igual que yo) por eso, por eso no te perdono
(Llorarás igual que yo) yo sé que vas a llorar igual que yo
(Llorarás igual que yo) algun día pagarás por tu traición
(Llorarás igual que yo) me destrozastes el corazón
(Llorarás igual que yo) fuiste mala, mala mujer
(Llorarás igual que yo) por eso contigo no quiero volver
(Llorarás igual que yo) te lo juro por mi madre, no te vuelvo a querer
Vete, vete, vete lejos mujer (llorarás igual que yo)
Yo sé que vas a llorar igual que yo (llorarás igual que yo)
Algun día pagarás por tu traición (llorarás igual que yo)
Eres mala y bandolera (llorarás igual que yo)
Por eso te digo: "ramera" (Llorarás igual que yo)
¡Ja, ja, ja-ja!
(María La Nieve, la picarona
Dice que tiene miedo, caramba, de dormir sola
Ah-ay, ah-ay, ah-ay, ah-ay
¿Qué pasó Marito?
Bueno, ¿a él que le va a pasar?
The lyrics to Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound's song Traición tell the story of a love that was once so strong and pure, like the adoration of a god, but is now destroyed by the betrayal of one partner. The singer had so much faith in the person they loved, adoring them on an altar, and never could have imagined the day would come when they would be betrayed. The betrayal has left the singer bleeding and heartbroken.
The singer directs their words towards the person who betrayed them, saying that they killed their love with their cruel actions, treating the singer like a worthless toy with no heart. The singer takes solace in the fact that one day, the traitor will pay for their actions and cry tears of blood just like the singer. The song ends with a series of insults and declarations of the singer's disgust towards the traitor, telling them to go far away and calling them derogatory names.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo te tuve en un altar
I placed you on a pedestal
Como a un Dios yo te adoré
I worshipped you like a god
Te quería tanto, tanto
I loved you so much
Te tenía tanta fe
I had so much faith in you
Nunca pude imaginar
I never could have imagined
Que llegará la traición
That betrayal would come
La traición que ha desangrado
The betrayal that has bled me dry
Y me ha roto el corazón
And has broken my heart
Tú matastes mi cariño
You killed my love
Con una cruel traición
With a cruel betrayal
Para ti yo fui un juguete
To you I was a toy
Sin valor ni corazón
Without any value or heart
Pero el día llegará
But the day will come
En que pagues tu traición
When you pay for your betrayal
Y con lágrimas de sangre
And with tears of blood
Llorarás igual que yo
You will cry just like me
(Llorarás igual que yo) oye, me destrozastes el corazón
Hey, you broke my heart
(Llorarás igual que yo) algun día pagarás por tu traición
Someday you will pay for your betrayal
(Llorarás igual que yo) fuiste mala, mala mujer
You were a bad, bad woman
(Llorarás igual que yo) yo te tuve un altar, como a un Dios yo te adoré
I put you on a pedestal, worshipped you like a god
(Llorarás igual que yo) aunque me sigas rogando mujer
Even if you keep begging me, woman
Ya no te vuelvo a querer, (llorarás igual que yo) porque eres mala
I won't love you again, because you are bad
Mala, mala, mala, mala y bandolera (llorarás igual que yo)
Bad, bad, bad, bad and a wanderer (you will cry just like me)
(Llorarás igual que yo) ma-malita, malita, malita, malita, mamá
Ba-bad, bad, bad, bad, mama
(Llorarás igual que yo) oye, ya no te quiero, ya no te adoro
Hey, I don't love you or worship you anymore
(Llorarás igual que yo) por eso, por eso no te perdono
That's why I don't forgive you
(Llorarás igual que yo) yo sé que vas a llorar igual que yo
I know you will cry just like me
(Llorarás igual que yo) algun día pagarás por tu traición
Someday you will pay for your betrayal
(Llorarás igual que yo) me destrozastes el corazón
You broke my heart
(Llorarás igual que yo) fuiste mala, mala mujer
You were a bad, bad woman
(Llorarás igual que yo) por eso contigo no quiero volver
That's why I don't want to be with you anymore
(Llorarás igual que yo) te lo juro por mi madre, no te vuelvo a querer
I swear on my mother, I won't love you again
Vete, vete, vete lejos mujer (llorarás igual que yo)
Go far, far away, woman (you will cry just like me)
Yo sé que vas a llorar igual que yo (llorarás igual que yo)
I know you will cry just like me
Algun día pagarás por tu traición (llorarás igual que yo)
Someday you will pay for your betrayal (you will cry just like me)
Eres mala y bandolera (llorarás igual que yo)
You are bad and a wanderer (you will cry just like me)
Por eso te digo: "ramera" (Llorarás igual que yo)
That's why I call you a "wh*re" (you will cry just like me)
¡Ja, ja, ja-ja!
Ha ha ha-ha!
(María La Nieve, la picarona
(María La Nieve, the tricky one
Dice que tiene miedo, caramba, de dormir sola
Says she is afraid, damn it, to sleep alone
Ah-ay, ah-ay, ah-ay, ah-ay
Ah-ay, ah-ay, ah-ay, ah-ay
¿Qué pasó Marito?
What happened, Marito?
Bueno, ¿a él que le va a pasar?
Well, what's going to happen to him?
Writer(s): Manuel Manolo Palos
Contributed by Sophia W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.