El Espejo Del Chinito - Los Populares De Nueva Rosita

Dear Aza: 

Good question about the lyrics to this old novelty song, by Colombian composer Calixto Ochoa.  I think your first guess is correct. It’s about a peasant “chinito” character who sees his face in a mirror for the first time, and realizes he’s so ugly he smashes the mirror.

I’m afraid there is a racist element to the song, reflecting prejudice against Asian people in Latin America. The “chinito” in the song is not only ugly but ignorant, since he has never seen a mirror. He reacts like an animal might to his own image, unaware that it’s just him in the reflection. The chorus of the song extends the mockery by pronouncing the words “Qué sera” (what is it?) with a stereotyped Chinese accent, replacing the “r” with an “l.”

There are two versions of the recording in the Frontera Collection, both by the norteño group, Los Populares de Nueva Rosita. The audio for the song is linked, not to this record on the Raff label, based in Los Angeles, but to the one released by Mex Melody, from Dallas, Texas.

They do the song as a Mexican style cumbia. But there is an older recording by Los Corraleros de Majagual, a famous folk/tropical band from the composer’s native Colombia. Although their version is musically far superior, it exhibits even more overt racism in a dialog segment where the “chinito” speaks with an accent.

For a deeper discussion of racism in some of the recorded music found in our archive, I refer you to my book, entitled The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings.

Thank for your interest in our music.

Agustín Gurza, Editor, The Frontera Collection