The point of Salsa music is to provide a nice steady rhythm to dance to. This way you can listen to the same song hundreds of times, bringing an inadvertent movement to your feet, even if you don't pay any attention to the words. But sometimes the same Salsa song can have an entire story to tell. If you listen closely, and look behind it a bit, it can even be funny, outrageous, or even illustrate a historical event. This is precisely the case with Comes y te vas (in English you eat and then you leave), going back to a diplomatic mishap in 2002 on part of Mexican president Vicente Fox with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The story was cringe enough to be captured in not one but two popular songs.
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The Background of the Incident
Historically, Mexico and Cuba have always shared close ties, not only due to their similarities in Spanish colonization, but first and foremost because of their proximity to the United States, which has caused both countries their share of problems. After the Cuban revolution, when diplomatic relations with the US became even more strained for Cuba, Mexico became a sort of intermediary in many aspects. This close Cuban-Mexican relationship reached a low point in March 2002, when Mexico hosted the United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development, to which Cuba was also invited.
When Fidel Castro confirmed his attendance, Vicente Fox called him on the phone, resulting in a cringeworthy conversation that the Mexican president most probably was not even aware that it was being recorded. Instead of welcoming the Cuban leader with the enthusiasm one would expect from its close neighbor, Fox acted surprised that Fidel actually wanted to attend! Then he made allusions to how the event would be structured, when Fidel could give his presentation, and then be seated next to Fox at the subsequent lunch. However, he asked his Cuban counterpart in the most polite way, that following that meal it would be best if he could fly back to Cuba as soon as possible. The reason being, that another attendee at the event was George W. Bush, and Fox was worried that the US president could be offended by Castro's presence. Here is the recorded phone call:
Fidel reacted in the most diplomatic way one would expect from a career politician with decades of experience, explaining that he would much rather skip the whole lunch, since he doesn't like to fly with a full stomach. Fox tried to paddle back and appease him the best as he could, but by that time it was too late. The scandal was in full swing, especially when Fidel told him that he had been taping the phone call, which he would release to the press. When he did, it created a whirlwind of outrage, out of which plenty of parody was born, including the songs I want to share with you today.
Here are the Tunes
The two musical interpretations of this incident are captured by artists Guillermo Zapata and Virulo, both of which use regionally typical music styles to explain the scandalous interaction of the two Latin American leaders. The former and more famous one is a Salsa song, the latter is more similar to the style known as Son Cubano. Interestingly, both songs mention various Mexican dishes, which Fidel is even welcome to take home with him, as long as he leaves right away. The third song I included here (since I wanted to have three tunes for this Tuesday) is by a modern artist named Nicky Jam and has nothing to do with this incident, in spite of its title. Instead, he is talking about a girl, who seems to treat him a bit like Fox did Fidel. Not really my favorite style of music, but check it out if you're interested.
If you are got curious about the weekly challenge of #ThreeTuneTuesday, please visit the prompt post by 