Title: Amarga Navidad (Bitter Christmas)
Label: 7 Arts
2017 Grammy nominees Best Latin Jazz with Maqueque - Jane Bunnett band.
In writer Gustavo Arellano’s 10 Great Mexican Christmas Songs for the Holidays he had this to say about Jose Alfredo Jimenez-Sandovals beloved holiday song: Amarga Navidad..
“The most famous ranchera Christmas song of them all, written by Mexico's greatest singer-songwriter, the translation says it all: "Bitter Christmas." And it only gets more heartbreaking from there. The protagonist tells his beloved that "may your cruel goodbye be my Christmas" because he doesn't want her for the New Year—SAVAGE. Covered by everyone from Vicente Fernández to Jenni Rivera, Los Cadetes de Linares and more!”
Most holiday fare is fluff – snowflakes tapping a lone window, separated families together again gathering around a freshly cut evergreen, logs cooking on an open fire, much baking going on in the kitchen as lovers celebrate another year of fidelity in mutual harmony. Not with “Bitter Christmas”!
Do it all at once
with one single blow
Why do you want to kill me little by little?
If the day is coming when you abandon me,
I prefer, my love, that it be tonight
I liked that you left in December
Let your cruel goodbye be my Christmas
I don't want to begin the New Year
With the same love
that has hurt me so much
And soon afterwards
That many things happen
That you are regretful
That you are very afraid
Then you will know
That what you left behind
Was what you needed most
But now there is no solution
Jose Jimenez songs are considered the heart soul of Mexican culture. They prod deep under the skin in a style popularized by the composer himself – rancheras, originating in the cities of Mexico in the 50s’ and 60s’and classified – “melodramatic and sentimental.” The most popularized rendition of “Amarga Navidad” came from American born singer Jenni Rivera, whose roots in Mexican song tradition made her an international star, selling more than twenty-million recordings. Rivera’s life in ways mirrors the troubling lyrics of “Bitter Christmas” – herself pregnant at 15, a mother and a fighter. Before her tragic death in 2012 in a plane crash she was spokeswoman for the National Coalition of Women Against Domestic Violence.
What truly makes Amarga Navidad a captivating holiday tour-de-force for a singer is it’s soaring melodies. Cuban born Elizabeth Rodriguez comes to this with unreserved passion from the first stanza – “Acaba de una vez , de un solo golpe , porque quieres matarme, poco a poco” to the last wish – “Merry Christmas Baby.” It’s from those moments the words and melody simmer and escalate throughout. Partner, Magdelys Savigne joins Rodriguez midway and the parallel voices echo each other in perfect harmony. At times it’s difficult identifying which voice is lead and which is support.
OKAN is a unique project led by both Rodriguez and Savigne. It’s an ongoing exploration of their roots grounded in traditional Cuban and Latin American music with a contemporary view. In addition to possessing angelic voices the two are virtuosos on their adopted instruments. Rodriquez violin and Savigne – percussion.
Amarga Navidad is produced and engineered by Bill King and mixed and mastered by Jesse Dubmatix King.
Elizabeth Rodriguez – vocal/violin/vocal arrangement
Magdelys Savigne – vocal/percussion/vocal arrangement
Bill King – piano/arranger
Pablofsky Rosales – guitar
Recorded at The Station House November 2017
OKAN Management – Marilyn Gilbert MGAM
Contact: billkingpiano@gmail.com 647-883-2919
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