“End once and for all in one fell swoop…!” begins the hymn for those who are heartbroken during the Christmas season. It’s about the song bitter christmas by José Alfredo Jiménez “The King”who is known to have been inspired by his own stories of love and heartbreak to compose his songs.
However, far from what one might think, bitter christmas it is not inspired by sentimental pain. According to Raúl Velazco, she was the wife of the singer-songwriter, Paloma Gálvez, who revealed the true origin of the Christmas classic.
It has its origin in the box
The testimony narrates that José Alfredo Jiménez was an addition to the box, however, it was not to his liking to go to the stadiums, where there were too many people. Instead, he preferred to watch the fights in his house, accompanied by Paloma and her children. It was precisely watching a fight Jose Becerra, who heard that he exclaimed: “Just once with a single blow.” The expression fascinated him, because he realized that it could be used metaphorically to talk about feelings.
Gálvez mentioned that her husband lost the euphoria of the fight and remained silent, an attitude he maintained when composing, perhaps to hear the voice of the muses more clearly. The fact that he wrote a song dedicated to Becerra, who was one of his favorite boxers, is not surprising, since he also dedicated With death between the fists.
It should be noted that Becerra was the first absolute bantamweight champion in Mexico, which aroused the admiration of El Hijo del Pueblo. However, the phrase merged with the Christmas spirit; for many a melancholic season that tends to make the disillusioned more susceptible.
Finally, the song became a hymn of Christmas pain, which narrates the experience of separation and the desire that the farewells be sharp as if it were a hook, no longer to the liver, but to the heart. For this reason, it is easy to listen to it in bars and drunken binges during the posada season, among the laments of the disappointed who, like El Rey, quench their pain with tequila.
Letter of bitter christmas
Finish once and for all with one blow,
why do you want to kill me little by little?
If the day will come when you abandon me,
I prefer, sweetheart, that it be tonight.
I liked December for you to go away
May your cruel goodbye be my Christmas.
I don’t want to start the New Year
with that same love that hurts me so much.
And after many things happen,
that you are sorry,
that you are very afraid,
you will know that what you left
It was what you wanted the most
but there is no remedy.
I liked December for you to go away
May your cruel goodbye be my Christmas.
I don’t want to start the New Year
with that same love that hurts me so much.
Rodrigo Osegueda Philosopher by training. Contemplate the soul and imagination of Mexico.