Hispanic Heritage

El lavaplatos

("The Dishwasher")

"El lavaplatos" was recorded by Los Hermanos Bañuelos (reissued by Arhoolie/Folklyric, 1975). This canción-corrido recounts in humorous tones the adventures of a poor Mexican who immigrates to the United States in search of the glamorous life of Hollywood, only to find himself drifting from one backbreaking job to another. The following stanzas are representative of the narrative tone:

One day very desperate,
because of so much revolution,
I came over to this side of the border
without paying the immigration.
Oh, what a fast one,
Oh what a fast one,
I crossed without paying anything.
On arriving at the station,
I ran into a friend,
who gave me an invitation
to work on el traque.
I supposed el traque
would be some kind of warehouse,
but it was to repair the track
where the train ran.
Oh what a friend,
oh what a friend,
how he took me to the track.
When I got tired of the track,
he invited me again,
to pick tomatoes and thin beets.
And there I earned indulgences
walking on my knees;
about four or five miles
they gave me for penance. (Arhoolie/Folklyric, 1975).

Source: Hispanic American Almanac, Gale, 1997; DISCovering Multicultural America, Gale, 1999.