Here is a live version of “Latin American Beauty Queen”
Videos
“Tickrider” live at Stubb’s
A Tick Rider is a government inspector who rides the banks of the Rio Grande on horseback. He is looking for cattle that have crossed over from Mexico. Some of these cattle carry a fever tick and they can infect cattle on the US side. This is a real “cowboy” job. He spends all day on horseback and retires at night to a government provided shack near the river. It is a lonely job and he had better have his head on straight.
A few years ago, a group of tick riders were sent to Paris, France to teach their job to the French, who were having an outbreak of fever tick.
“Catholic Schoolgirl” live at Stubb’s
Why are bad boys attractive to good girls? It goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. The forces of good and bad tugging at each other has been around ever since God gave us free will. Just like a magnet, sometimes the forces are repelled but just as often they attract.
I Ride Alone
Sometimes it’s lonely out there. You have to clear your head. Especially after a heartbreak. He is alone with his horse, on the way from San Antonio to Laredo. He meets a special woman. But he is not ready. “Someday I’ll be your guiding light, but for now, I ride alone.”
Find Gringo Barrio songs on ITunes
Ernie and Justine
A lament about true love and how far a young man will go to prove his love for his woman. This is a song about how innocents get caught up in the drug business. For love, for money, and for a mirade of reasons young people ruin their lives and futures when making bad decisions for what seems like noble causes.
Ropin’ Tips
A little ropin’ lesson from your friends at Gringo Barrio
“Latin American Beauty Queen”
We have had many questions about the song “Latin American Beauty Queen”. The song is a story of a young Mexican girl who wins a beauty contest, Miss Puebla. She becomes the girlfriend of a drug boss and her life is doomed from that point on. The story is a made up one but based on real events that have happened in Mexico. Latin girls are known for their incredible beauty and charm and beauty pageants are very popular in Latin America. Unfortunately, some of these girls end up in the company of drug lords.
The most famous of these beauties was Maria Susana Flores Gamez. She was crowned Woman of Sinaloa in February 2012. Sinaloa is a state in Western Mexico that is home to some of the biggest drug gangs. Susy, as she was called, began dating a known cartel member, “El Cholo”, sometime before her pageant competition. She kept it quiet from family and friends. In November 2012, in a confrontation between the military and drug gang members, Susy was gunned down by members of the military. She was only 20 years old. You can read a detailed account here:
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_22655097/beauty-queens-bright-future-snuffed-mexican-drug-violence
There is something surreal and poignant about these beautiful “flowers” of Mexico growing up and blooming in the area of some of the worst corruption and violence in our time. The song is a lament about these unlucky girls and wish for a better life for them and for all of Mexico.
Gringo Barrio
Viva Laredo!
The Making of Gringo Barrio
“Gringo Barrio” title track
Gringo Barrio
Well I’m right at home, in my Gringo Barrio
And there is no place that I would rather be
The living is good, right here in my Barrio
This Barrio will always be home to me.
Down on the Border, in old Laredo
Mariachi music and gritos fill the air
The smell of cabrito drifts in the breeze
A senorita’s smile, as pretty as you please
Now you know this place, it’s not for everyone
If you don’t like the culture, it might not be that fun
But as for me, it’s downright charming
So I hung my hat, and here I will stay till my time is done.
San Augustine Plaza, and old La Posada
And all the friendly faces at the Cadillac Bar
Time for a bootshine, on the streets of Guerrero
A handful of pesos, will take you real far
The sun burns hot, in my Gringo Barrio
The few streets with asphalt will burn your feet
One hundred degrees, sittin’ here in the shade
Pop a cool one, it sure goes down real sweet
Not everyone is from the same fabric
And you, may not culturally agree
But as for ME , the botas and huaraches
There’s no place that I’d would rather be
GRINGO BARRIO “Son of a Bitch”
This is one of the first songs we wrote. About a redneck who listens to no one and lives life the way he sees fit. Does not give a damn about what anyone thinks. This video is in the studio early in the recording process so sound quality is not great, but you get the idea. Chip Dolan at the piano, Chris Gage at the controls, and Mike “TBird” Jackson on guitar.
Gringo Barrio 