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By Natalie Herman
NPR allows a “First Listen” to the new CD by legendary traditional Irish band The Chieftains teamed with American musician, Ry Cooder, entitled San Patricio.
This CD sets out to combine the traditional music of Mexico and Ireland, telling the tale of Irish deserters of the American army, particularly in “The Sands of Mexico.”
The Saint Patrick’s Battalion – Batallón de San Patricio in Spanish – was a group of European immigrants, mainly Irish and German, who fought as part of the Mexican Army against the United States in the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. These men were uncertain as to why they were fighting a Catholic army for a cause that was not their own and fed up with being mistreated by Anglo-Protestant officers. They left the army being led by General Zachary Taylor, and under the command of Captain John Riley of County Galway, fought against the United States until Mexico surrendered in February of 1848.
The CD’s sound is meant to reflect that which would have been heard by the Irish soldiers, who called themselves “San Patricios,” combined with their own traditional music from the homeland they left behind.
San Patricio hits stores on March 9, 2010.
Thanks, Pattie, for the heads-up.
On a related and somewhat personal note, I reconnected with a good friend who I met in third grade and with whom I lost touch after graduation – through Facebook, of course. I learned that though our paths have diverged, they had not taken us into completely different directions. Though I cannot remember a single Irish influence in our upbringing in El Paso, Texas, aside from the usual St. Patrick’s Day school fanfare, Everett Saucedo also became an “honorary Irish” member, and he is the bodhran player for El Paso’s best (and only) regular seisiun, The San Patricios. If you are ever in El Paso and happen upon a ceili band, buy the bodhran player a pint and tell him Natalie said hi.
Natalie Herman provides content for Paddy-Whacked Radio™ News
Copyright © 2010 Natalie Herman and Paddy-Whacked Radio™
