El Gran Varón – Willie Colón

This song came out in 1989 and it started a great conversation about LGBTQ+ rights and its perception in the Latin American community. Just like anywhere else, the LGBTQ+ community faces many adversities; in Latin America there is a strong presence of Catholicism, which is often used to judge persecute those in the community. The song tells the story of Simón and the relationship with his father before and after his transition from male to female.

Today’s song is…

El Gran Varón by Willie Colón

There actually is not an official music video for this song, but there was an episode in a Mexican show with the same title, alluding to the song.

English Subtitles:

Willie Colón is a Salsa artist from the United States, but belongs to Puerto Rican heritage. Although not a prominent figure in Latin American music, he has brought up important topics through the talent and use of his salsa music. He is often known to be paired up with Hector Lavoe, a more popular salsa artist.

Let’s look at the lyrics:

In a hospital room
at 9:43 Simon was born
It’s the summer of ’56
The pride of Don Andrés, for being a man

 

Here the audience gets to know a bit about the “main character” Simón, and the time that we are in to get a better understanding of what is to come in the future. In Latin America, the culture appreciates and is more exited about expecting a boy; obviously this has a lot to do with patriarchal society.

 

 

 

With a heavy hand, with severity
he never gave an opinion
“When you grow up you will study
The same things as your dad, listen well
You will have to be a great man”

According to the machismo, when raising boys, the fathers make sure that their sons do not show emotion and that everything is served to them on a golden platter. The men are expected to follow in their fathers; footsteps.

He wore a skirt, lipstick, and a purse

Now it is talking about the transitions and changes that Simón goes through to achieve her their true self.

 

And a woman spoke to him as she passed
She said “hello, what’s up dad, how’re you doing?
You don’t know me I’m Simon
Simon, your son, the great man”

This is the first time that the father sees Simón as a woman and she is so unrecognizable, he finds it difficult to see Simón as the “great man” that everybody told him that he was going to be.

And don’t complain Andrés, don’t complain about anything
If lemons fall from the sky
learn to make lemonade

This is a reference to the common saying of “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. In this situation the “lemon” would be the father finding out that his son is transgender and the “lemonade” would be to maintain a relationship with his child.

At last there was news of where his son was
Andres never forgot the day of that sad call

 

After years of being distant, Andres (Simón’s father) stopped hearing from his child and never ended up taking the last phone call.

 

In a hospital room
Simon died of a strange illness.

HIV is a sickness that is commonly tied to homosexuals, this however, is a stigma. It is important to have compassion because those that love you will end up gone the next day.

Citations:

Appiah, Kwame Anthony. “Should I Tell My Elderly Turkish Dad That His Grandchild Is Trans?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Aug. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/09/magazine/trans-elderly-ethics.html.

Quintana, Hugo. “Machismo Culture Must Go.” The Michigan Daily, 21 Mar. 2022, https://www.michigandaily.com/michigan-in-color/machismo-culture-must-go/.

Ricks, Jason. “Moving on- When Life Gives You Lemons Make Lemonade.” LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/moving-on-when-life-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonade-jason-ricks/.

“Simon, El Gran Varon [DVD].” Best Buy, https://www.bestbuy.com/site/simon-el-gran-varon-dvd/13887118.p?skuId=13887118.

Unaids.org. “New HIV Infections Rising in Latin America―Key Populations Particularly Affected.” UNAIDS, UNAIDS, 14 Oct. 2019, https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2019/october/20191014_latin-america.