{"id":99,"date":"2021-09-09T02:41:23","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T06:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/?p=99"},"modified":"2021-12-25T17:14:34","modified_gmt":"2021-12-25T21:14:34","slug":"un-mojado-sin-licencia-by-flaco-jimenez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/2021\/09\/09\/un-mojado-sin-licencia-by-flaco-jimenez\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cUn Mojado Sin Licencia\u201d by Flaco Jimenez"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Un Mojado Sin Licencia\" width=\"1333\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EttEhbspO8s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>About the Song<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUn Mojado Sin Licencia\u201d is a one of many <em>Tejano<\/em> songs, sang by Flaco Jimenez, a famous singer, songwriter, and accordionist. The word Tejano is a term used to describe Texan people that are of Mexican descent. Tejano music, which is also called Tex-Mex music, is a genre that combines the influences of northern Mexican music (norte\u00f1o), Southern and Central Texan music, and the unique styles of Czech and German immigrants who settled in Texas in the 19th century. Tejano music typically features instruments like the accordion, violin, and brass instruments. Jimenez&#8217;s song mainly features accordion and vocals, with a bass guitar keeping the beat. Spanish is prominent throughout Tejano music, as it is the native language of many Tejano people. Jimenez&#8217;s song is written and sung in Spanish. The title of Jimenez&#8217;s song translates to &#8220;A Wetback Without A License.&#8221;  The word &#8220;wetback&#8221; is a derogatory term used towards Mexicans who have entered the U.S illegally. It&#8217;s likely this word was one of many slurs thrown at Tejanos, by Anglo Texans, who didn&#8217;t view them as legitimate Texans. In his song, Jimenez illustrates the struggles of being a citizen in love, living in America, but being one who is not recognized by the law.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lyric Summary <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The narrator talks of traveling from the edge Southern Texan border, from the city of Laredo, all the way to San Antonio, to marry his love named Chencha. But unfortunately, he is unable to marry her can&#8217;t because he is a &#8220;wetback.&#8221; He bought a car to take his Chencha for a ride, but he got pulled over and arrested for driving without lights or a license. He gets out of jail, but soon thereafter he finds his love with &#8220;a gringo, the head boss who gives out licenses.&#8221; Jimenez wants a job, himself possessing the skills carpenter or a musician, but feels as though even if he gets a job, people will still ask for his license.  So, he decides to go back to Laredo, accepting he has lost his car and his love to &#8216;sneaky gringos.&#8217;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lyric Analysis<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jimenez&#8217;s whole song is about a Mexican living in Texas without a license. The narrator&#8217;s mention of driving a car can lead one to think he is referring to a driver&#8217;s license, however, the term &#8220;license&#8221; has a broader definition and is meant to refer to the license required for one to live in America (e.g a green card).  Without a license, the man in Jimenez&#8217;s song is not considered a legal citizen and therefore cannot truly <em>live<\/em> in America. As a result, he cannot be with the woman he loves. In fact, she leaves him for a gringo that is the &#8220;head boss who gives out licenses.&#8221; This license-issuing head boss the narrator refers to may not necessarily be a government employee who physically issues licenses. In my eyes, the narrator gives the man this description to contrast the &#8220;gringo&#8217;s&#8221; social status with the narrator&#8217;s own. The narrator is a Tejano without a license and therefore has limited citizenship. Meanwhile, the &#8220;gringo&#8221; he describes (who presumably has legal citizenship) is viewed as high class, relative to the narrator, so it&#8217;s as if he has the power to issue licenses himself. Rather than continue to face poor treatment for his social status, the narrator decides to go back home to Laredo, forfeiting his car and his love for the more Mexican-cultured, and more welcoming city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Texan-ness<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Texan pride is often described as a sense of extreme arrogance and patriotism. It&#8217;s the idea that those who are from Texas are superior to those who aren&#8217;t. This Texan pride is completely missing from Jimenez&#8217;s song. Jimenez instead sings about Tejanos being viewed as second class in Texas. Rather than feeling the same superiority that many other Texans describe, he feels a sense of degradation. Many songs about Texas talk about choosing to stay in Texas as opposed to going elsewhere. In contrast, Jimenez expresses that Tejanos are better off heading south towards Mexico if they don&#8217;t want to face discrimination and racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spanish Lyrics<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Desde Laredo a San Antonio<br>yo he venido a casarme con mi Chencha<br>y no he podido, por ser mojado.<br>pues para todo me exigen Ia licencia.<br>Se me hizo facil comprar un carro<br>para sacar a pasear a mi Cresencia<br>y por Ia noche fui a dar al bote<br>porque no traiba ni luces ni licencia.<br>AI fin de todo sali del bote<br>con muchas ganas de vera mi Chencha.<br>Ia halle paseando con un gabacho,<br>el mero jefe que arregla las licencia<br>Ando buscando tambien trabajo<br>soy carpintero y mariachi de experiencia<br>Lde que me sirve mi buen o.ficio<br>si para todo me exigen mi licencia?<br>Ya me regreso para Laredo<br>Aqui he sufridoya basta de verguenza.<br>Estos, gabachos son abusados,<br>perdi mi carro y me quitaroh a Chencha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>English Translation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve come to marry Chencha.<br>But I haven&#8217;t been able to do it because I&#8217;m<br>a wetback<br>And I keep being asked for my license.<br>I thought I&#8217;d buy a car<br>To take my Cresencia for a ride<br>And that night I wound up in the can<br>&#8216;Cause I didn&#8217;t have any lights or a license.<br>Finally I got out of the clink<br>Looking forward to seeing my Chencha<br>I found her with a gringo<br>The head boss who gives out licenses.<br>I am also looking for a job<br>lam an experienced carpenter and musician<br>But what good is my job for<br>If they keep asking for my license?<br>I&#8217;m going back to Laredo<br>I&#8217;ve suffered enough shame<br>These gringos sure are sneaky,<br>I lost my car and my Chencha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Works Cited<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWetback.\u201d <em>Merriam-Webster<\/em>, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/wetback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jimenez, Flaco, and Michael Goodwin. \u201cUn Mojado Sin Licencia and Other Hits From the 1960s.\u201d Arhoolie Productions, Inc., 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTejano Music History: 4 Characteristics of Tejano Music &#8211; 2021.\u201d <em>MasterClass<\/em>, www.masterclass.com\/articles\/tejano-music-guide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About the Song \u201cUn Mojado Sin Licencia\u201d is a one of many Tejano songs, sang by Flaco Jimenez, a famous singer, songwriter, and accordionist. The word Tejano is a term used to describe Texan people that are of Mexican descent. &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":256,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[12,103],"class_list":["post-99","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-songs-of-texas","tag-flaco-jimenez","tag-tejano-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/256"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":815,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions\/815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unewhavendh.org\/music-of-texas-fall-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}