La Reina del Sur – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Los Cuates de Sinaloa

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the captivating narrative of "La Reina del Sur" by Los Cuates De Sinaloa. This corrido offers a glimpse into the life of Teresa Mendoza, a powerful figure in the drug trade, and provides a unique opportunity to understand the storytelling traditions within Mexican music.

[English]

I'm going to sing a ballad

Listen up real close, my friends

For the Queen of the South

A very famous drug trafficker

Born down in Sinaloa

Aunt Teresa Mendoza

The gringo told Tere

Here's my phone number

When you hear it, little one

Don’t try to answer

Because they already tricked me

And you'll have to run away

The gringo Davila was

A very daring pilot

For the Juarez cartel

He did a lot of favors for them

In a Tasesna plane

They killed him in the mountains

Said Epifanio Vargas

Teresa, you will escape

I have a friend in Spain

He can give you a place to stay

He owes me many favors and will have to help you

When I arrive in Melilla

Then she changes her luck

With Don Santiago Pisterra

They gathered quite a few people

Buying and selling drugs

For both continents

Manolo Cespedes said

Teresa is very risky

She sells drugs to France

Africa and also Italy

Even the Russians buy from her

She's a pretty tough woman

She was the Queen of the South

Back in her homeland

Teresa, the Mexican woman

From across the sea

A very brave woman

Who will not be forgotten

One day she disappeared

Teresa, the Mexican

They say she's in prison

Others say she lives in Italy

In California or Miami

In the United States

...

[Spanish]

Voy a cantar un corrido

Escuchen muy bien mis compas

Para la reina del sur

Traficante muy famosa

Nacida allá en sinaloa

La tía teresa mendoza

El gûero le dijo a tere

Te dejo mi celular

Cuando lo escuches prietita

No trates de contestar

Es por que ya me torcieron

Y tu tendras que escapar

El gûero davila era

Piloto muy arriesgado

Al cartel de ciudad juarez

Les hizo muchos mandados

En un avion de tasesna

En la sierra lo mataron

Dijo epifanio vargas

Teresa vas a escapar

Tengo un amigo en españa

Allá te puede hospedar

Me debe muchos favores y te tendra que ayudar

Cuando llego a melilla

Luego le cambio la suerte

Con don santiago pisterra

Juntaron bastante gente

Comprando y vendiendo droga

Para los dos continentes

Manolo cespedes dijo

Teresa es muy arriesgada

Le vende la droga a francia

Africa y tambien a italia

Hasta los rusos le compran

Es una tia muy pesada

Era la reina del sur

Alla en su tierra natal

Teresa la mexicana

Del otro lado del mar

Una mujer muy valiente

Que no la van a olvidar

Un dia desaparecio

Teresa la mexicana

Dicen que esta en la prision

Otros que vive en italia

En california o miami

De la union americana

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
corrido /koˈri.ðo/ B1	noun - a type of narrative song or ballad in Mexican culture
reina /ˈre.i.na/ A1	noun - queen
famosa /faˈmo.sa/ A2	adjective - famous
traficante /tɾafiˈkante/ B2	noun - trafficker
escapar /es.kaˈpaɾ/ B1	verb - to escape
piloto /piˈloto/ A2	noun - pilot
droga /ˈdɾo.ɣa/ A2	noun - drug
suerte /ˈsweɾ.te/ B1	noun - luck
valiente /baˈljente/ B1	adjective - brave
prisión /pɾiˈsjon/ B2	noun - prison
amigo /aˈmi.ɡo/ A1	noun - friend
tierra /ˈtjera/ A2	noun - land, earth
cambiar /kamˈbi.aɾ/ A2	verb - to change
ayudar /a.juˈðaɾ/ A2	verb - to help