Two strangers meet each other by chance and have a passionate affair. At some point the man has to move on, leaving his lover feeling abandoned and wounded, like ‘a cat under the rain’… But she accepts her fate with grace and dignity: both of them knew that it was never meant to last.

So goes the story told in La gata bajo la lluvia, Cat Under the Rain, an enduring classic from 1981 which was popularised by one of Spain’s great musical legends: La Señora de la Canción. La Novia de la Juventud. La Reina de las Rancheras. La Española más mexicana. ¡La gran Rocío Dúrcal!

In the mid 70’s, Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel convinced Dúrcal to perform some of his rancheras. She did so, and with such huge success that she became associated with the genre ever since. The singer became known then as La Reina de las Rancheras – Queen of the Rancheras and La Española Más Mexicana: the Most Mexican of All (female) Spaniards.

La gata bajo la lluvia is now considered to have been the turning point in the transformation of Dúrcal’s music – from ballad singer to Ranchera performer.

Desde su aparición en 1981, la canción ha tenido numerosas versiones. La más reciente es de junio de este año, de mano de la cantante mexicana-estadounidense de 19 años Ángela Aguilar. Al igual que Dúrcal, Aguilar trabaja con géneros de la “música regional” (tradicional, folklórica) del mundo hispano. Aguilar interpreta La Gata bajo la lluvia en colaboración con el DJ y productor de música electrónica Steve Aoki.

La gata bajo la lluvia es una de esas canciones que cuentan una historia. O, mejor dicho, describen una situación con mínimos detalles, y uno se imagina el resto. El oyente tiene que conectar los puntos – the listener joints the dots to make sense of what the full background story might have been.

The melody is rich with unresolved notes that are left there hanging – just like the female narrator -, compelling the listener to pay attention until the very end, when the melody finally settles on its ‘home chord’ with the words “por ti”.

Ilustración del episodio: Nuestro Stories – nuestrostories.com

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