Spanish Poupée de Cire

One of the reasons I have become a fan of La Terremoto de Alcorcón over the years is because she has introduced me to a couple of classic hits that I would have most likely not have come across otherwise. A recent piece of this kind is her own remake of Poupée de Cire, the winning entry to the Eurovision Song Contest from 1965 (the original performance here). As is usual with La Terremoto, her remakes involve characterization, parody and satire, with her image intentionally being more that of a comedienne than an iconic singer with a great voice. Nonetheless, she carries through with her purpose and is often able to convey a strong message with her work.

"Alcorcon's Earthquake" would be the translation of her artistic name; and although she was born in Alcorcón, near Madrid, she grew up in Andalusia, and she takes pride in her strong Southern Spanish accent. She incorporates it into her routines to enhance the comedic overtones of her lyrics. She has all the typical Andalusian aspects in her speech: seseo, aspiration of /s/ in syllable codas, rhotacism of /l/ in closed syllables, and velarization of /n/ and, consequently, a strong nasalization of the preceding vowel (for instance, she pronounces Alcorcón as [arkor'kõŋ]). Indeed, like most Southern Spaniards, she sounds as if she came out of Chile or the Caribbean, more than Spain itself; it's simply the nature of the Andalusian accents which have more in common with the American accents than the Spanish ones (a topic that has been discussed on this blog).

La Terremoto's version of Poupée de Cire (Wax Doll, in French) is titled Muñeca Made in Alcorcón, and just like the title itself, the lyrics are a mixture of Spanish, with some French (from the original piece), and some English thrown in. As an example, she sings in one instance: Si me das una canción que triunfe all over the world.

Her accent exemplifies the various features of the Andalusian accent, all of which can be heard on this very song. I will be reviewing more of her work in upcoming entries, so this piece is an excellent introduction to the Southern Spanish speech. Known not only in her native Spain, but also throughout Latin American by some, La Terremoto is truly a poupée de son herself.



Some pronunciation highlights from the video:
0:28 fan > [fɑ̃ŋ]
0:38 gracias... igualmente > ['gɾasjæ̞h, i'ɣwarmẽnte]
1:03 si me das una canción > [si me ðæ̞h una kɑ̃ŋsjõŋ]
1:29 ríete de tus problemas con tu imaginación > ['ri.ete ðe tuh pɾo'βlemæ̞h kõŋ tujmahina'sjõŋ]
3:28 Contrast the accent of the presenters, who speak with a more standardized, Central-Northern Spanish accent; in particular, the quality of /s/ universally, and, of course, distinción (i.e. distinction between the phonemes /s/ and /θ/)