corrido de Daniel Fernandez

Annotation — Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs

The song "El Corrido de Daniel Fernandez" (Hurricane Records # 45-6967), backed by an English translated version, called "The Ballad of Daniel Fernandez", released on a Mexican-American label in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The group Los Reyes de Albuquerque ("The Kings of Albuquerque") was led by Roberto Martinez, who composed this song, very active in the 60s and 70s, blending the Mexican-American genres mariachi, ranchera, Tex–Mex, and corridos.1 Martinez's son was also a musician - Lorenzo Martinez, featured on this list with "A Sigh for My Lai / I Am a Chicano". This was another Vietnam-related Corrido - a Mexican type of song which traditionally spread news and information in Mexican territories through folk music in the late 18th century. Musicians continued this tradition in the US, singing about wars and political events, such as the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK (see "Homenaje a Robert F. Kennedy", "El corrido de John F. Kennedy", and "Memorias del Dr. Martin Luther King" as examples).23 This one paid tribute to Danny Fernandez - the first Mexican American soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for service in Vietnam. The official Medal of Honor citation read: "Fernández demonstrated indomitable courage when the patrol was ambushed by a Viet Cong rifle company...an enemy grenade landed in the midst of the group...Fernández vaulted over the wounded sergeant and threw himself on the grenade as it exploded, saving the lives of his 4 comrades at the sacrifice of his life".4567 There are several records about him: Danny Fernandez by Eddy Harrison, and Corrido de Daniel Fernandez, also written by Martinez, and performed by Los Reyes de la Frontera- see below. The B-side of the record began with a spoken-word intro: "we took the liberty of translating into English, the corrido de Daniel Fernandez, and although I'll effort leave a lot to be desired, it's meant as a friendly jester to our non-Spanish speaking fellow American and New Mexicans".Songs about Daniel Fernandez: Los Reyes de Albuquerque - El corrido de Daniel Fernandez / The Ballad of Dan Fernandez Los Reyes de la Frontera - Corrido de Daniel Fernandez / Besos y Caricias Eddy Harrison - Danny Fernandez Los Coyotes del Río Bravo - Daniel Fernández Sources1Smithsonian Folkways: Lo mejor↩2Corridos in Migrant Memory (Martha I. Chew Sánchez, 2006)↩3¡Corrido!: The Living Ballad of Mexico's Western Coast (John Holmes McDowell, 2015)↩4Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund: DANIEL FERNANDEZ↩5Wikipedia: Daniel Fernandez↩6history.army.mil: Vietnam a l (archived copy)↩7rattler-firebird.org (archived copy)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Fellow American listen, I'd like to have your attention / So I can tell you a story of love, duty, and devotion / The ballad of Dan Fernandez is the title of this song / He died in South Vietnam while fighting the Viet Cong / As a child he was schooled...he used to run playing... / Then off to South Vietnam where he was destined to die / When he was mortally wounded, the soldier had this to say / Dear lord I'm ready to go, just give me the time to pray / To say an act of contrition, that's all I wish to do / Then my heavenly father I will gladly go with you /He loved New Mexico, you have the right to be proud / One of your sons has distinguished himself today in the crowd

Notes

Hurricane 45-6967, black, white and yellow label with palm-tree logo, 1927 San Mateo, N.E., Alb., N.M.; "The Ballad of Dan Fernandez" (Roberto Martinez), time 2:26, and "El Corrido de Daniel Fernandez" (Roberto Martinez), time 2:39, both Striking Music, BMI; Los Reyes de Albuquerque listed as Ray Flores, Miguel Archibeque, Isidro Chavez, George Benavidez and Roberto Martinez; produced by Al Hurricane. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Albuquerque, New Mexico. Led by Roberto Martinez, father of Lorenzo Martinez

Themes

Patriotic · Medal of Honor · VC · K.I.A.

In collections

Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]