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Colombia’s Greatest Hits No. 95 – Martín Elías: “El Terremoto”

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Martin Elias is the son of Diomedes Diaz, one of vallenato’s most famous singers. Although he is only 22 years old, he has already been playing vallenato for over a decade, starting out in a band full of relatives called La Familia de Diomedes when he was hitting puberty. ”El Terremoto” (The Earthquake) is Martin Elias’ nickname, possibly derived from his considerable girth. The song is a bouncy and lustful ode to the hottest babe in town, who of course is Martin’s girlfriend (or friend with benefits), and Martin is such a cool guy he doesn’t even need to tell anyone that the girl is all his. Unlike a lot of vallenato songs, this tune is sexy.

Tiene como 180 pretendientes

que la llaman y la viven molestando

y yo tranquilo los dejo que se alejen

porque soy de los que comen por debajo

She’s got 180 suitors

Who call her and live to bother her

And I’m relaxed and let them scare her away

Because I’m one of those guys on the down low

A lot of vallenato songs are warbly serenades by insecure guys who seem ready to kiss their girlfriend’s feet. I like that this song is told from a more confident and fun-loving perspective.

Pasamos disimulando todo el tiempo

para evitar los que viven murmurando

pero cuando llega el momento de vernos

beso y recorro su piel de arriba a abajo

We spend all of our time in hiding

To avoid those who live to gossip

When the moment arrives to see each other

I kiss her and caress her skin from head to toe

Gossip is a way of life in Colombia. It’s not so bad in a gigantic city like Bogota which is full of places to hide. But even city with several hundred thousand people (like Martin Elias’ native Valledupar) can feel like a small town, especially if everyone knows about your mistress.

Aunque pasen y le lleguen ofreciendo cuatrimotos

ella sabe que en su cama ya tiene su terremoto

El que la sube y la baja nada mas con darle un beso

Although they pass by offering ATVs

She knows that in her bed she has her earthquake (!)

That makes her go up and down with a single kiss

So that’s where the earthquake comes from! I guess the bigger they are the harder they shake. The song continues with more boasting of Martin’s sexual prowess, but I think you get the idea.

Until recently, Elias’ accordion player was a fellow scion of a famous musician: Rolando Ochoa, the son of accordionist and composer Calixto Ochoa, one of the founding members of Colombian orchestra Los Corraleros de Majagual. The big controversy in vallenato this year has been that Silvestre Dangond and Martin Elias switched accordion players, with both sets of singers and squeezebox players blaming each other for the breakups.  Dangond and his former accordionist Juancho de la Espriella each say that the other one made the first move in breaking up after 10 years together, while Martin Elias says that Rolando Ochoa made the decision to be leave Elias’ band after six years together when Ochoa heard that Dangond was looking for a new accordionist. There were also rumors that the very publically Christian de la Espriella, who had found God and stopped doing cocaine, had grown weary of Dangond’s party lifestyle and lyrics. But the accordion player denied this to Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, and I tend to believe him based on the fact that the lyrics to this song alone, which de la Espriella has to play at every concert, breaks several commandments and embodies one of the deadly sins. If anything, I would say Dangond’s lyrics are usually a bit more chaste.

The real reason for the accordionist shuffling probably has to do with Dangond wanting to take his music to the next level. Ochoa is a well-known composer (he wrote “El Terremoto”) in addition to being an accordion player, and even authored Dangond’s 2010 hit song “Cantinero”. Dangond is the biggest name in vallenato right now, and I can imagine him getting a little paranoid about keeping his status as the grand poobah of the genre. I am not enough of a specialist to judge who plays a meaner accordion, but judging by “El Terremoto”, Dangond didn’t screw up with the switch. It will be interesting to see how the music evolves on Elias and Dangond’s next albums, and if the competition and soap opera between the two singers only gets more intense over time.


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