La Inundación De California
By Cancioneros Acosta (Columbia 4883-X), 1930
This corrido narrates the catastrophic collapse of the St. Francis Dam north of Los Angeles on March 13, 1928. The resultant flood was the second-deadliest disaster in California history, with over 400 people killed. The flood created a wall of water ten stories high and took five and a half hours to reach the ocean 54 miles away. The corrido’s last four verses describe the horrors of the rushing water crashing into sleeping communities, including a nearby camp of itinerant farm workers. “La Inundación De California” brought home the enormity of the St. Francis Dam disaster for listeners far and wide.
The torrent made its way
destroying the area
and leaving in its wake
many broken hearts
Spanish
El martes, trece de marzo
Del novecientos veintiocho
Es una fecha de luto
Pa’l mexicano y pa’l pocho
La presa San Francisquito
En el valle Santa Clara
Se reventó de repente
Sin que nadie lo esperaba
El torrente caminaba
Destrozando las regiones
Y dejando tras su paso
Muchos tristes corazones
Tranquilamente dormían
En la noche silenciosa
Sin que ninguno
Soñara tragedia tan espantosa
Por el poder infinito
Estaba ya destinado
El que tantos inocentes
Debían de morir ahogados
En menos que se los cuento
El valle era una laguna
Y la corriente arrastraba
Sin dejar casa ninguna
Las inocentes familias
Luchaban desesperadas
Cargando a todos sus hijos
Y sus cosas más amadas
So oía quejar lastimero
Ayes de horror y de espanto
Auxilio pedían a gritos
¿Cómo ayudarlos, Dios Santo?
“Madre mía, no me dejes”
Decía un infortunado
“Que si me dejas solito
Me voy a morir ahogado”
Era una lástima oír
A las madres que lloraban
Y de dolor angustiadas
Por sus hijos preguntaban
Una niña de tres años
Lloraba inocentemente
Al ver que sus padres
Iban ahogados en la corriente
Cadáveres encontraban
Era una lástima verlos
Supervivientes ya nunca
Pudieron reconocerlos
Hubo escenas tan terribles
Que no puedo referir
Que de sólo recordarlas
Siento profundo sufrir
Aquí me despido amigos
Con esta triste canción
Y ahora ruéguenle
Al cielo por los de la inundación
English
Tuesday, the thirteenth of March
On nineteen hundred and twenty-eight
Is a day of mourning
For the Mexican and the Pocho
The dam of San Francisquito
In the Santa Clara Valley
Collapsed suddenly
And unexpectadly
The torrential flood
Destroyed the region
Leaving in its path
Many grieving hearts
In the quiet of the night
While all were sleeping peacefully
Show would dream of such
Who would dream of such a horrible tragedy
Destiny was set
By the almighty power
So that many innocent people
Were bound to drown
In no time at all
They valley became a lake
And the sweeping current
Left not a single house behind
Hundreds of families
Struggled desperately
Carrying all their children
And their most cherished possessions
Pitiful moans were heard
And the wails of terror and fear
They cried for help
But how to help them, dear God?
One of the unfortunates said
“Mother of God, don’t leave me
If you desert me now
I’ll surely drown”
It was a pity to hear
The mothers crying
Asking in desperation
About their lost children
A three-year-old girl
Was crying helplessly
Watching her parents
Drowning in the current
Some bodies were found
Which were pitiful to see
Their survivors were never
To identify them
There were scenes so terrible
That I can’t describe them
I feel deep grief
Just recalling them
Here I bid you farewell
With this sad song
I ask that you pray for
The victims of the flood
