Corrido De Los Temblores
By Los Madrugadores (Vocalion 9052), 1933
An account of the Long Beach Earthquake of March 10, 1933, this corrido is sung from the perspective of Los Madrugadores, who experienced the earthquake firsthand. The song details the earthquake’s wreckage and warns the listener to pay his moral debts before the next earthquake hits. A combination of poor soil and sub-standard construction made the Long Beach Earthquake of 1933 one of the costliest in California history, with roughly 120 casualties and over 50 million dollars of damage.
Within a few hours
The radio announced
That in different places
There were so many dead
And the hospitals were
Full of wounded people
Spanish
En el díez de Marzo
No lo puedo olvidar
El susto que recibimos
Cuando por la tarde
Empezó a temblar
Y a la calle nos salimos
Con esta temblada
Hombres y mujeres
Y hasta los Madrugadores
Dejamos tirados todos los quehaceres
Por miedo de los temblores
Pasó el primer susto
Y todos creyeron
Que el peligro había pasado
Pero al poco rato
Los sismos seguirán
Poniéndonos con cuidado
Y como seguía temblando
Tanto de noche y de día
Todos vivían en las calles
Y ya nadie se dormía
A las pocas horas
El radio anunció
Que en diferente lugares
Había tantos muertos y de
Heridos llenos todos
Los hospitales
En Muchos lugares quedaron
Las ruinas de preciosos edificios
Tres cuadras enteras se fueron al suelo
Quedando hecho desperdicio
De toda la gente que en esos momentos
Transitaba por el centro
Quedó sepultada bajo los escombros
Más de un cincuenta porciento
Y Como seguía temblando
Tanto de noche y de día
Todos vivían en las calles
Y ya nadie se dormía
Al niño de atocha muchos le pedían
A gritos y hasta llorando
No te hagas el sordo en esta ocasión
Que el diablo nos va llevando
Hubo mucha gente
Que al temblar la tierra
Confesaba a dios eterno
Todos sus pecados a gritos abierto
No queriendo ir al Infierno
Los sabios han dicho
Que por algún tiempo
No parará de temblar
Y a ustedes yo les digo
Que se pongan changos
No se los vayan a tragar
Paguen lo que deban
Limpien sus conciencias
Y ya no tendrán temores
Y si es que se pega
No dejen su radio Y oigan
A Los Madrugadores
Y Como seguía temblando
Tanto de noche y de día
Todos vivían en las calles
Y ya nadie se dormía
English
On March 10
I can’t forget
The scare we received
When in the afternoon
The ground started to shake
And we all ran out to the street
With all this shaking
Men and women
And even Los Madrugadores
We all left our chores
Because we were scared of the earthquake
The first scare came and went
And we all thought
That the dange had passed
But after some time
The shakes continued
As we continued to be careful
And it continued
Well into the night
Everyone stayed out in the streets
And no one got any sleep
In the early hours
The radio announced
That in other places
There were many deaths
And the injured
Filled the hospitals
In many places, the only things that
Were left were the ruins of the precious buildings
Three city blocks fell to the ground
Leaving it all to waste
All the people in those moments
Traveled through downtown
Were buried under the rubble
And many were suffering
And it contined
Into the night
Everyone stayed out in the streets
And no one slept
Many pleaded to the Niño de Atocha
Screaming and even crying
Don’t play deaf right now
Because the devil is taking us away
There were a lot of people
That when the earth trembles
Confessed to the eternal God
All their sins out loud
That they don’t want to go to hell
Luzarios have said
That for some time
It will not stop shaking
And to you I say
Stay alert!
So you don’t get swallowed
Pay what you owe
Wipe you conscience clean
And you will no longer fear
And if is our turn
Don’t turn off your radio
And listen to the Los Madrugadores
And it continued
Into the night
Everyone stayed out in the streets
And no one slept