"Chicas Patas Boogie"
A catchy blend of American jumping jive and Spanish lyrics, "Chicas Patas Boogie" is a classic example of pachuco music. Pachucos were a Mexican-American youth culture, mainly in California, in the 1930s and 1940s. The pachucos were seen as gang members and were involved in the infamous "zoot suit riots," racially motivated violence by US sailors against the Mexican-American zoot suiters. But the music of the pachucos is nonpolitical, all about the fun of a swing lifestyle.
Composer and performer Lalo Guerrero began as a pachuco, and went on to become a major figure in the Chicano movement. Late in life he was declared a national folk treasure by the Smithsonian, and received the National Medal of the Arts from President Bill Clinton. Guerrero continued to work throughout his life, recording his final album in 1999. "Chicas Patas Boogie" is a great introduction to the early work of this influential and talented musician.
Click here to hear a clip from "Chicas Patas Boogie." (MP3 file)
Learn more about Lalo Guerrero
Lalo Guerrero discography compiled by his son, Mark Guerrero
Lyrics for "Chicas Patas Boogie":
| Swing chicas patas, este es mi borlo | Swing little feet, this is my party |
| lo bailo en Turlock con una chula | I dance it in Turlock with a cutie |
| Lo bailo en San Jo con una guisita todo trén. | I dance it in San Jose, with a girl that's a beauty |
| Lo bailan los carnales hay en Sacras | The homeboys dance it in Sacramento |
| Tambien los camaradas hay en San Fran | Also our friends in San Francisco |
| Tambien las chavalonas en Verdugo | Also the girls in Verdugo |
| Tambien los pachucones en El Chuco | Also the zootsuiters in El Paso |
| Se pone a todo trén cuando bailan boogie | Everything's all right when you dance boogie. |
| En Arizona hasta en Pomona lo han afando. | Fram Arizona to Pomona they are doing it. |
| En Colorado on todo Tejas hasta Nuevo Mexico tambien | In Colorado and all of Texas and New Mexico, too. |
| Los vatos en Albuequerque se lo avientan | The dudes in Albuquerque give it their all. |
| En Fresno y en Stockton lo revientan | In Fresno and Stockton they tear it up. |
| Lo he visto yo bailar hasta en San Tony | I've seenit danced in San Antonio. |
| En Houston y en San Angel le ponen | In Houston and San Angel they get down. |
| Se pone a todo trén cuando bailan boogie | Everything's all right when you dance boogie. |