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"La Cucaracha" was a popular tune among Mexican civilians at the time, and there are numerous examples of non-aligned political verses. Many were general complaints about the hardships created by the war, and were often written by pro-Zapatistas. Other non-aligned verses contained references to various factions, in a non-judgmental manner:
The song's tune is described in the novel as sounding like a combination of "La Cucaracha" and "Oh My Darling Clementine". [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The animals sing "Beasts of England" frequently after the rebellion, especially after meetings.
[5] [6] The name "cockroach" comes from the Spanish word for cockroach, cucaracha, transformed by 1620s English folk etymology into "cock" and "roach". [7] The scientific name derives from the Latin blatta, "an insect that shuns the light", which in classical Latin was applied not only to cockroaches, but also to mantids. [8] [9]
There are several references to the folk song La Cucaracha throughout the novel. In Vertigo comics' The Exterminators the main villain is a breed of cockroaches named Mayan Hissers, being responsible for "destroying" Mayan civilization. Milquetoast the Cockroach was a character in the comic strips Bloom County and Outland by Berkeley Breathed.
A portrait of Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution. According to Callier the term roach was inspired by the Latin American folk song “La Cucaracha". [5] While the exact origins of the song remain unknown the version that is thought to have referenced the roach is the commonly cited version that ridicules Mexican Revolutionary leader Pancho Villa.
Reanalysis of loan words can affect their spelling, pronunciation, or meaning. The word cockroach, for example, was borrowed from Spanish cucaracha but was assimilated to the existing English words cock and roach. [18] The phrase forlorn hope originally meant "storming party, body of skirmishers" [19] from Dutch verloren hoop "lost troop".
Another kind of revolutionary songs are folk songs that become popular or change lyrics during revolutions or civil wars. Typical examples, the Mexican song "La Cucaracha" and the Russian song "Yablochko" (Little Apple) have humorous (often darkly humorous) lyrics that come in easily remembered stanzas and vary highly from singer to singer.
La Cucaracha (Spanish for The Cockroach) is a nationally syndicated daily comic strip by Lalo Alcaraz. First published in the LA Weekly in 1992, La Cucaracha 's satirical themes reflect U.S./Mexican, and Latino culture and politics. [ 1 ]