The song is that of a man telling a woman (fromMálaga, Spain) how beautiful she is, and how he would love to be her man, but that he understands her rejecting him for being too poor.
The issue is controversial because ... [Hidalguense composer] don Nicandro Castillo wrote that several tunes fromla Huasteca which in decades past were known ashuapangos, composed by Elpidio Ramírez, Roque Ramírez and Pedro Galindo, were actually anonymous songs, as was the case ofCielito Lindo andLa Malagueña, which likeLa Guasanga orEl Sacamandú, were in thepublic domain, written "long before the construction of the Cathedral ofHuejutla".[6]
Many have recorded and played this song, in particularTríos huastecos,Mariachis and BoleroTrios. But the most famous version was made byMiguel Aceves Mejía with his mariachi. With Huapangos or Son Huastecos, thefalsetto technique is used to great effect, as inDavid Záizar's version. Quite a few versions of the song feature vocal gymnastics by whoever sings them, particularly the stretching of vowels such as the "e" sound in thegentilic 'Malagueña' for as long as the singer can hold the note. Other known mariachi versions of the song were recorded by:
In the opening title sequence of the movieOnce Upon a Time in Mexico,Antonio Banderas is seen "playing" on guitar a version of Malagueña Salerosa, recorded byChingon, members of group Del Castillo of Austin, Texas and director/producer/editorRobert Rodriguez, with orchestral backing.
Alla Bayanova was recorded in Romania in 70 years on long-playing record. She sang this song in Romanian.
^Nicandro Castillo (1914–1990):"El Hidalguense", "Las Tres Huastecas", "El Cantador", "La Calandria", "Sueño", "El Alegre", "El Huasteco Enamorado", "Fiesta Huasteca", "El Gavilán Tamaulipeco", and "Mi huejutla"
^Trejo, Ángel."El huapango resucitó y vive una de sus mejores etapas: Enrique Rivas Paniagua" (in Spanish).Mexico City: Conaculta. Archived fromthe original on 2004-06-12. Retrieved2009-09-28.El tema es controvertido porque en dichas páginas [compositor hidalguense] don Nicandro [Castillo] escribió que varios sones huastecos que en las décadas pasadas fueron conocidos como huapangos compuestos por Elpidio Ramírez, Roque Ramírez y Pedro Galindo fueron en realidad sones anónimos — como fue el caso deCielito Lindo yLa Malagueña, que al igual queLa Guasanga oEl Sacamandú, eran del dominio público — escritos mucho antes « que se construyera la Catedral de Huejutla ».
La Malagueña