A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New
Mexican
March 12, 2010
If you get an emotional surge of
patriotism in your soul when you hear the phrase “Remember the Alamo,” chances
are you might not care for the new album by The Chieftains and Ry
Cooder.
Or at least the subject matter. While some might not like
the idea of celebrating those who fought hard against this country, it’s
difficult to imagine that anyone could be unmoved by at least some of the
wondrous collaboration that is San Patricio. Once you get
swept into chief Chieftain Paddy Moloney’s magic, you might come dangerously
close to forgetting the Alamo.
![](images/SANPATRICIO.jpg)
The
inspiration behind this album is the story of the San Patricio Brigade, a band
of predominantly Irish (although there also were a good number of German)
immigrants, many of whom deserted the U.S. Army and joined the Mexican army to
fight during the Mexican-American War.
Moloney and Cooder recruited their
own brigade of musicians including Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte and Mexican
American songbirds Lila Downs and Linda Ronstadt, as well as Irish actor Liam
Neeson to record this tale. And there are lesser-known groups including Los
Folkloristas and Los Cenzontles.
“If the Mexicans were there, there must
have been music. I know for myself, if the Irish were there, there most
certainly would have been music.” That’s what Moloney writes in the liner note
of San Patricio. And he and his collaborators show what a sweet mix traditional
Irish and Mexican music can be. Uilleann pipes and tin whistles play Mexican
melodies. Mariachi mixes with Celtic themes. At one point, the "Mexican Hat
Dance " becomes a jig.
Not all of the tunes deal directly with the San
Patricios. In fact, “Persecución de Villa,” in which The Chieftains are joined
by Mariachi Santa Fe de Jesus (Chuy) Guzman, is about Pancho Villa and the
Mexican Revolution, which occurred more than 60 years after the Mexican-American
War.
History lesson: In this
country, the San Patricios were known as traitors. In Mexico, they are
considered heroes who fought an invading Army. The war, derisively called “Mr.
Polk’s War” (after President James K.), was controversial. Even Gen. Ulysses S.
Grant, who served as an Army lieutenant during the conflict, sounded almost like
Dennis Kucinich when he wrote in his memoirs, “To this day [I] regard the war, which resulted,
as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.” The
American Army suffered a desertion rate of more than 8 percent — more than for
any other American war.
According to historian Martin Paredes, “Although the American Army was composed of
recent immigrants, discrimination permeated through the ranks. Catholic
prejudice and harsh treatment by Anglo-American superiors and the use of extreme
disciplinary measures such as flogging added to the reasons for the desertions
from Taylor’s ranks. ‘Potato heads,’ as the Irish were commonly called, were
particularly singled out for harsh treatment.”
In a song called “Sands of
Mexico,” Cooder sings, “ Now the Army used us harshly, we were but trash to
them/Conscripted Irish farmers/Not first class soldier men/They beat us and they
banged us/Mistreated us, you know.”
No, this was no picnic time for
potato heads.
According to an article presented online by the Texas State Historical Association, “The Mexican government,
aware of prejudice against immigrants to the United States, started a campaign
after the Mexican War broke out to win the foreigners and Catholics to its
cause. ... Mexican propaganda insinuated that the United States intended to
destroy Catholicism in Mexico, and if Catholic soldiers fought on the side of
the Americans, they would be warring against their own
religion.”
Narrating “March to Battle (Across the Río Grande)” on San
Patricio, Neeson recites, “We are the San Patricios, a brave and gallant
band/There’ll be no white flag flying within this green command/We are the San
Patricios, we have but one demand/To see the Yankees safely home across the Río
Grande.”
![Photo by Judith Burrows](images/PADDYRY.jpg)
The
San Patricios were led by Sgt. John Riley, an Irish immigrant who had deserted
the U.S. Army and fought hard for Mexico. But they made their last stand at the
Battle of Churubusco (a name that came from the Aztec word meaning “Place of the
War God”) in August 1847. Out of 260, only 75 survived. They killed at least 137
American soldiers and wounded nearly 900.
“We went down to Churubusco,
but the devil got there first,” Cooder sings in “Sands of Mexico.” Many of the
deserters were hung. “As I stand upon the gallows, it cheers the soul to
know/History will absolve us on the sands of Mexico,” Cooder sings.
But
Riley was in for a fate some might think worse than death. He was forced to dig
the graves of some of his compatriots. He also received 50 lashes and was
branded with the letter "D" (for "deserter") on his face — twice, actually.
According to http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1955/4/1955_4_20.shtml,
“Since the letter was seared on upside down the first time, it was righted in a
second branding.” Two years later, Riley would sue over this punishment, but a
jury in Cincinnati ruled in favor of the government.
Again from Neeson in
“March to Battle”: “We’ve disappeared from history like footprints in the
sand/But our song is in the tumbleweeds and our love is in this land/But if in
the desert moonlight you see a ghostly band/We are the men who died for freedom
across the Río Grande.”
On a lighter
note: My favorite Irish tune in recent weeks can be found on Black
47’s new album Bankers &
Gangsters.
It’s a funny, upbeat song called “The Long Lost Tapes
of Hendrix.” And yes, it’s about Jimi.
Leader Larry Kirwin sings, “One
evening while out strollin’ a friend I chanced to see/He was begging behind a
bottle on Spring and Bowery/He said ‘I got some news for you, only cost a couple
of bob/About a buried treasure back home in Ballydehob.’ ”
But the
treasure is as elusive as the wee folks’ pot of gold. To find the tapes, Kirwin
has to confront a BBW bank teller — “200 pounds of sweet Maggie McGuire” — as
well as an ominous “apparition in tie-dye.”
I’ll say no more, except
“Purple Haze” never sounded so good on uilleann pipes.