con-amor--with-love

[con-amor--with-love]

Él era un hombre de campo

He was a country man (farmer)

Oriundo de Nuevo León

Native (hailed) of Nuevo León

Tenía apenas 19 años

He was barley 19 years old

Su nombre: José Pérez León

His name: José Pérez León

Tenía un primo lejano

He had a distance cousin

Que de mojado se fue

Who had crossed over illegally (Mojado translates to "wet" but in this case it's referring to some who is a "wetback". The direct translations is *who wet, left*.)

Al poco tiempo le envió un telegrama diciendo ven pronto José

Shortly he (the cousin) sent a telegram saying "come quickly José"

Pues un trabajo le había ya encontrando piscando algodón como él

For he had found him a job picking cotton like him

Y se fue, y se fue

And he left, and he left

Ahogando el llanto en el adiós con su mujer

Snuffing out the wail of his goodbye with his woman

Se fue, sin saber que de ese viaje ya jamás iba a volver

He left, without knowing that from that trip he would never return

Pobre José

Poor José

Cuando llegó a la frontera

When he arrived at the border

Con Willy se entrevistó

With Willy he interviewed

Era el pollero más afamado y astuto de la región

He was the coyote (the guide that smuggles people across the border) most famous and intuitive of the region

Le dijo, Pepe, hoy estás de suerte, mañana te cruzo yo

He (the coyote) said, "Pepe today is your luck day, tomorrow I'll be the one that crosses you over (through the border)

La madrugada de un viernes

The early morning of a Friday

En una vieja estación

At an old train station

30 inocentes pagaban su cuota, entre ellos José Pérez León

30 innocents paid their fee (coyotes aren't free and are definitely not cheap), amongst them, José Pérez León

Y sin dudarlo, a todos metieron en el interior de un vagón

And without a doubt, everyone was put in the interior of a railway carriage

El tren cruzó al otro lado

Inside the train, they crossed to the other side

Casi 7 horas después

Almost 7 hours later

Fue cuando el aire empezó a terminarse, y ya nada pudieron hacer

Was when the air started to run out, and by then nothing could be done

Nadie escuchó aquellos gritos de auxilio, y la puerta no quiso ceder

No one heard those screams for help (S.O.S.), and the door would not budge

Uno por uno se fueron cayendo y así falleció el buen José

One by one they started falling and that's how the good José died

Y se fue, y se fue

And he left, and he left

A cruzar el cielo con sus ansias de crecer

To cross into heaven taking with him his excitement to grow (his hopes and dreams for the future

Se fue, sin saber

He left, without knowing

Que ya su esposa un hijo suyo iba a tener

That his wife was with his child (it's implied that their goodbye is the reason she's pregnant)

Pobre, José

Poor José

Así termina la historia, no queda más que contar

This is how his story ends, there is nothing left to tell

De otro paisano que arriesga la vida y que muere como ilegal

Just another fellow countryman that risks his life and dies as an illegal

De aquel José, que mil sueños tenía y que a casa

The story of José, who had a thousand dreams and back to his home

Jamás volverá

He'll never return