Album unites two cultures on Saint Patrick’s Day

Faith moves mountains, goes the old saying.
That’s exactly what faith made a group of Irish immigrants do in the 19th century, when they decided they’d rather die at the hands of the Protestant Yankees rather than kill their Mexican Catholic brothers in the Mexican-American War.
That group of Irishmen, known as the Batallón de San Patricio, were recent immigrants that on arriving to the U.S., the army would give them a gun to make them go fight against the Mexicans. At that time, the Irish were discriminated against and treated like second-class citizens by Americans of English origin.
But the Irish, following their consciousness and faith, deserted the U.S. army and joined the Mexicans.
When the war ended, the United States hanged the San Patricios for betrayal, later burying their stories, stories that are rarely told in official history textbooks.
Now one of the most successful Irish bands is paying tribute to these men in an album where traditional Irish music blends with the diversity found in Mexican music.
The album, “San Patricio,” by The Chieftains, one of the most renown Irish bands in the last four decades, is a trip through the soul of two nations that share a history of discrimination, invasion and theft: Mexico and Ireland.
But more than anything, the album remembers those Irishmen who gave their lives in favor of a cause they truly believed was the right thing to do: To defend Mexico from the invading Yankee forces.
“The men of the San Patricio Batallion are remembered by generations of Mexicans to this day as heroes who fought bravely against an unjust and thinly veiled war of aggression,” said The Chieftains’ founder and frontman, Paddy Moloney.
The album, which was released on March 9, right on time for Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17, includes a parade of some of the most popular acts in Mexican and Chicano music.
The legendary Tigres del Norte, for example, appear in a duet with The Chieftains in “Canción mixteca,” a traditional song that captures the nostalgia that immigrants feel for being far from their homeland. The song perhaps represents the way the Irish immigrants felt when they were in foreign soil in America.
Also, renown American guitarist Ry Cooder plays an important role in the album, singing the original song “The Sands of Mexico” and performing in several of the songs.
Mexican-American singer Lila Downs performs in songs such as “La iguana” and “El relámpago.” Ranchera singer Chavela Vargas sings “Luz de luna,” while Los Cenzontles, whose members include some of the Los Lobos musicians, take care of “El chivo” and “Ojitos negros.”
But beyond the voices, “San Patricio” stands out for uniting two cultures and the music of two nations. Thus, the album combines norteña, bolero, son jarocho, and ranchera, with traditional Irish music. The two instruments that can be heard throughout the album are the fiddle and the harp, two important instruments in both cultures.
The Chieftains’ “San Patricio” is an album that will remind all Irish-Americans that they have much in common with Mexicans on both sides of the border.