19 min listen
El Gran Varón: Who Was Simón?
FromLatino USA
ratings:
Length:
41 minutes
Released:
Feb 3, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
For this week’s Latino USA, we’re bringing you an episode from the newly released podcast series from WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios, La Brega, The Puerto Rican Experience in Eight Songs.
Gabby Rivera was 7 when Willie Colón released “El Gran Varón” in 1989. She remembers her father playing in the Bronx. The cinematic arc of the song would stick with her: Simón, depicted as a trans queer person, is shunned by their father and dies alone of what’s assumed to be AIDS. “El Gran Varón” was first banned by some radio stations but became an international hit anyway. Many call it one of the most well-known Latin songs of all time. Its songwriter explains that it was inspired by a rumor about a real-life friend. Only years later did he realize his lyrics contained an eerie prophecy.
You can subscribe to La Brega here.
Gabby Rivera was 7 when Willie Colón released “El Gran Varón” in 1989. She remembers her father playing in the Bronx. The cinematic arc of the song would stick with her: Simón, depicted as a trans queer person, is shunned by their father and dies alone of what’s assumed to be AIDS. “El Gran Varón” was first banned by some radio stations but became an international hit anyway. Many call it one of the most well-known Latin songs of all time. Its songwriter explains that it was inspired by a rumor about a real-life friend. Only years later did he realize his lyrics contained an eerie prophecy.
You can subscribe to La Brega here.
Released:
Feb 3, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
How I Made It: Yasser Tejeda & Palotré: How I Made It: Yasser Tejeda & Palotré by Latino USA