El gran varón

"El gran varón", (English: The Great Male) also known as Simón, el gran varón, or Simón is a salsa song written in 1986 by Omar Alfanno and sung by Willie Colón. The song narrates the story of Simón, a transgender woman who is rejected by her father for her lifestyle and dies presumably of AIDS, alone in a hospital in New York. The song, which addresses homophobia and transphobia, is one of the top Latin songs of all time.

Release and success

The song was written in 1986[1] by the Panamanian composer Omar Alfanno[2][3] and was sang by Willie Colón[4][5][6][7] with his group Legal Alien. It was included in the album Top Secrets in 1989,[8][9][10][11][12] the last album produced by Fania.[13] The record went gold and platinum. "El gran varón" peaked at number 13 on the Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States.[14] The song was at the top of musical lists in ten countries and ranks # 23 Billboard's list of 50 best Latin songs of all time.[15][16][17]

Historical value

"El gran varón" tells the story of Simón, a father's pride and joy. Simón's father is sure his son will follow in his footsteps and be "a great man" but Simón instead leaves Puerto Rico for the United States to embrace her transgenderness and initiate her gender transformation.[13] Simón's father pays her a surprise visit one day and finds his son has transitioned into a woman.[18] Simón's father flatly rejects her while the chorus reminds her that nature cannot be changed. Years later, her father wants to reconnect with Simón but discovers she died in a hospital alone at the age of thirty.[19][8] According to Alfanno, "El gran varón" is a song about a friend of his. The song ridicules Simón's father for having rejected his son, given as the refrain repeats "no se puede corregir a la naturaleza, palo que nace doblado jamás su tronco endereza", (in literal English: "nature cannot be corrected, a tree born curved cannot ever straighten its trunk”) .[20]

"El gran varón" was the first Spanish song to broach the subject of AIDS and HIV; however, it did not mention the disease by name, saying Simón died "of a strange disease."[8] The song is a symbol for LGBT rights,[21] as it talks about homophobia.[9][22][23][24] At the time of its release, it was banned by many radio stations.[10]

Versions

There are two versions made by Willie Colón; the original is 6:54 minutes long. In this version Simón is born in 1956 and dies in 1986 ("Willie Colón, Super éxitos"). In the second version, the song is 6:03 minutes long, Simón is born in 1963 and dies in 1993 ("Willie Colón, Sólo éxitos" or "Willie Colón y Rubén Blades, Frente a frente").[21]

The song has been covered by other groups and artists. Sonora Kaliente covered it, selling six million copies.[25] In 2007, Danny Frank, a Colombian singer, did a version of the song.[26][27] A reggae version was done by Eclipse Reggae.[28] A rap version was made by Jako.[29] Cumbia versions were made by Damas Gratis and La Sonora Tropicana.[30]

Simón, el gran varón is also the name of a Mexican movie filmed in 2002 and inspired by the topic of the song. It was directed by Miguel Barreda Delgado and features artists Alberto Estrella, Victor Carpinteiro, and Alicia Encinas.[18]

See also

References
  1. Díaz Cárdenas, Jonathan. ""Escribí el gran varón mientras mi amigo moría de sida": Omar Alfanno" (in Spanish). aldia. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  2. Peña, Carolina (February 27, 2017). "Omar Alfanno, su historia detrás de las canciones" (in Spanish). El Tiempo.
  3. Lasso, Miriam (October 7, 2018). "Omar Alfanno: No haría una canción donde la letra se pusiera porno" (in Spanish). Panamá América.
  4. "Guayaquil vibró a ritmo de salsa" (in Spanish). EXTRA. August 6, 2017.
  5. Manzano, Giancarlo (December 28, 2017). "Llueven las críticas de los asistentes al Superconcierto de la Feria de Cali" (in Spanish). elpais.
  6. Téllez, Robert (October 6, 2016). "Omar Alfanno en Conversando La Salsa" (in Spanish). Radio Nacional de Colombia.
  7. Aparicio, Frances R. (1998). Listening to Salsa: Gender, Latin Popular Music, and Puerto Rican Cultures. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 9780819563088.
  8. Rex, Fernando (July 29, 2015). "SIN CLÓSET: Todos somos Simón el Gran Varón" (in Spanish). El Gráfico.
  9. Trivino, Jesus (June 17, 2016). "Why Willie Colón's "El Gran Varón" is Still Relevant Today". Latina.
  10. ""Pésimas" las opciones para presidente de EEUU, afirma músico Willie Colón" (in Spanish). el nuevo herald. October 18, 2016.
  11. Mendez-Mendez, Serafín; Rodríguez Deynes, Neysa; Cueto, Gail (2003). Notable Caribbeans and Caribbean Americans: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 125. ISBN 9780313314438.
  12. Potter, John; Cross, Jonathan (April 13, 2000). The Cambridge Companion to Singing. Cambridge University Press. p. 22. ISBN 9780521627092. el gran varon willie colon.
  13. "Hispanic Heritage Month: The 50 Greatest Latin Songs of All Time". Billboard. September 15, 2017.
  14. "Willie Colón Chart History: Hot Latin Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  15. "Las 50 mejores canciones latinas, según 'Billboard'" (in Spanish). Excélsior. November 14, 2015.
  16. "Dos canciones de Armando Manzanero entre las mejores de la historia de la música latina" (in Spanish). Ociolatino.com. November 19, 2015.
  17. "Según Billboard, estas son las 50 mejores canciones en español" (in Spanish). Cooperativa.cl. November 14, 2015.
  18. "El gran varon" (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  19. Garsd, Jasmine (January 23, 2014). "Raised In The U.S. And Coming Out To Immigrant Parents". NPR.org.
  20. Matosantos, José (1996). "Between the Trumpet and the Bongó: A Puerto Rican Hybrid". The Massachusetts Review. 37 (3): 428–437. JSTOR 25090811.
  21. "30 años después de haberse grabado "El Gran Varon", sigue siendo un éxito" (in Spanish). Fiesta FM. June 27, 2017.
  22. Durán, I. M. (February 19, 2015). "La homofobia en la música" (in Spanish). El tiempo.
  23. Maldonado Muñoz, Mauricio (October 8, 2014). "La pareja feliz es un programa horrible" (in Spanish). La RepúblicaEC.
  24. Avendaño, Diego (December 15, 2014). "7 canciones homofóbicas". sinetiquetas (in Spanish).
  25. Mercado Ramírez, Nesy (October 23, 2018). "La Sonora Kaliente de fiesta" (in Spanish). El Occidental.
  26. Gutiérrez, Estephanie (December 9, 2017). "#LoveIsLove 10 canciones que se rumora hablan de homosexualidad" (in Spanish). De10.mx.
  27. Saavedra, Ana Julieth (April 4, 2017). "El hijo de Siloé que alcanzó un Grammy" (in Spanish). El Tiempo.
  28. Gorroño, Raúl (July 26, 2016). "Veinte años de "fresh reggae"" (in Spanish).
  29. "Jako - El gran varon". August 21, 2006.
  30. "Bailan al ritmo de la cumbia en el Teatro del Pueblo" (in Spanish). Noroeste. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
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