Tren al Sur

"Tren al Sur" (English: "Train to the South") is a song from the album Corazones by the Chilean rock/pop band Los Prisioneros, released as the main single on May 7, 1990. It was considered one of the 50 most important Latin pop songs by Rolling Stone and one of the most groundbreaking Hispanic songs by The Observer. Its official video was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 1990.

"Tren al Sur"
Single by Los Prisioneros
from the album Corazones
Released7 May 1990 (1990-05-07)
Genre
Length
  • 5:39
LabelEMI
Producer(s)Gustavo Santaolalla
Los Prisioneros singles chronology
"We Are South American Rockers"
(1988)		 "Tren al Sur"
(1990)		 "Estrechez De Corazón"
(1990)

Composition and recording

During the recording of their 1990 album, Corazones, the band's vocalist Jorge González dedicated himself to making different demos of more than 19 songs (of which only nine remained for the album), among them were "Por amarte" and "Tren al Sur". He came to make up 3 different versions of both songs, trying to find the environment and the most perfect form of each one. The "most drastic influence for these songs" was during his visit in Bogota, Colombia in 1988, when Claudio Narea showed him some acid house-style records that he bought in France. He talked to his friend Cecilia Aguayo to be his keyboardist.[3]

"Tren al Sur" leaned towards "new musical fashions like the ballads". Its tempo and synth line was mainly based on the 1987 single "Touched by the Hand of God" by English rock band New Order. González programmed the drums and the band's producer, Gustavo Santaolalla, decided to make "a little stop, one where the train stops and they continue singing the chorus only with the noise of the train in the background". According to González, that "rounded off the song" and he also mentioned the importance of a charango brought by Gustavo.[4]

He claimed that the song originated after starring in a "destructive romance",[4] and in a 1990 interview with Rock & Pop magazine stated that "Tren al Sur" and "Es demasiado triste" were written by him "in a slight state of intoxication".[5] According to the former member of Los Prisioneros, the song conveys: "The happiness of the simple, which means enjoying the journey, that journey through life. Although it was composed by Jorge González, a former bandmate, as an interpreter I can say that it is a song that has transpired."[6]

Release

"Tren al Sur" was released on the EMI label[7] as the first single from the album Corazones on May 7, 1990, prior to the official release of the album, and was planned to play on Chilean radio stations.[8][9] The objective initially had complications,[10] since it had gone six months without playing on the radio. In 1989, the radios had put aside Rock en español and gave importance to other genres. "In fact, there were new albums by Soda (Stereo) and people didn't give a damn ball", González said in an interview with the Rock & Pop radio.[4]

Music video

The difficulties of recording the single caused Jorge to resort to the creation of a music video supported by producer Gustavo.[4] This video "melancholic and frank" was directed by Cristián Galaz,[3] and filmed in Estación Central in June 1990.[11] After the completion of the music video, the song began to play on several Chilean radio stations.[4] It was nominated for an "MTV Video Music Award" in the category "MTV International," but lost to “Oye mi Canto” by Gloria Estefan.[12]

Critical reception

In 2018, the Spanish language version of Rolling Stone magazine chose it as one of the eighteen most important Latin pop songs, and it commented that in this song, Jorge "revisits moments of his childhood; he remembers the sound of the locomotive, the smell of metal, the beautiful Chilean landscapes and the hug of his father." It also cited the influence it had on artists such as Alex Anwandter, Gepe, and Javiera Mena.[1] The Observer's Alice Moreno considered it one of the most groundbreaking Hispanic songs.[13]

Legacy

"Tren al Sur" was featured in an episode of the Chilean animated series Diego and Glot in which the band played it on a train.[14] The book Tren al sur: tropicalización del gótico en el Río de la Plata honored the song.[15] In 2018, a video of several students from the Alicante del Valle de Puente Alto School singing the song was recorded and went viral. The video was shared by González himself on his Facebook account.[16] It was covered by different artists, including Mexican synth-pop band Mœnia,[17] and Chilean rock band Lucybell.[8] In 2020, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the release of the Corazones album, several artists such as Javiera Mena, Pedropiedra and Miranda! made a version of the song "Tren al Sur", led by the band producer Gonzálo Yañez.[18]

References
  1. "Las 50 canciones más importantes de pop latino". Rolling Stone en Español (in Spanish). 11 June 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  2. "Grandes éxitos (EMI/Capitol)". La Opinión. 5 April 1993. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  3. "Jorge González y la historia de Tren al sur: "Nadie la tocó por seis meses, la indiferencia fue generalizada" – La Rata" (in Spanish). 20 May 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  4. LR, Redacción (11 July 2020). "A 30 años de 'Tren al Sur', la emblemática canción que pudo quedar en el olvido". La República (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  5. Pérez, Patricio (20 May 2015). "Especial #Corazones25Años: Entrevista de Los Prisioneros a Revista Rock&Pop (Mayo 1990)". Rata.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  6. "El tren también inspiró al grupo de rock 'Los prisioneros'". Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo (in Spanish). 25 September 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  7. Maira, Manuel (1 October 2016). Jorge Gonzalez. Una Historia Original (in Spanish). Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Chile. p. 24. ISBN 978-956-304-256-6. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  8. English, Jorge (2 January 2022). "¿"Tren al Sur" en versión metalera?: Lanzan el cover más extremo del clásico tema de Los Prisioneros". Fotech.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  9. Donoso, Freddy Stock (1 September 2015). Corazones Rojos (in Spanish). Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Chile. p. 164. ISBN 978-956-9582-20-2. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  10. Rodríguez, Cristofer (26 August 2022). Con el corazón aquí: Estado, mercado, juventudes y la Asociación de Trabajadores del Rock en la transición a la Democracia (1991-1995) (in Spanish). Ediciones Universidad Alberto Hurtado. p. 23. ISBN 978-956-357-372-5. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  11. "Con cantos ancestrales y danzas: así inició la 8va edición del 'Festival Identidades' en Antofagasta". BioBioChile - La Red de Prensa Más Grande de Chile (in Spanish). 3 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  12. Álvarez, Raúl (19 May 2020). "5 datos que esconde Corazones, el disco más exitoso de Los Prisioneros". La Tercera. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  13. Moreno, Alice (6 October 2022). "Groundbreaking Hispanic Songs: Rock en Español Edition". The Observer. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  14. Ruminot, Paulette (4 September 2020). "Revelan 10 datos desconocidos de Diego y Glot a 15 años de su estreno". ADN (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  15. Gabriel, Eljaiek-Rodríguez (10 April 2017). Selva de fantasmas: El gótico en la literatura y el cine latinoamericanos (in Spanish). Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. p. 63. ISBN 978-958-781-088-2. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  16. valladares, javier (11 September 2018). "El emocionante homenaje de escolares a "Tren al Sur" de Los Prisioneros". Radio Concierto Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  17. "Moenia y su cover de "Tren al Sur" de Los Prisioneros". Trenes y Metros (in Spanish). 8 April 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  18. "Varios artistas versionan "Tren Al Sur" de Los Prisioneros". Indie Rocks! (in Spanish). 22 May 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
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