David Bowie, Reimagined in Spanish

I try to keep editorial planning for The Latino Newsletter kind of loose these days, given how heavy the news can be. I filed today's story after learning that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made a deal with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that, as The New York Times described it, would “help homeland security officials find immigrants they are trying to deport, according to court records, committing to sharing information in what would be a fundamental change in how the tax collector uses its tightly regulated records.”

That’s a development so many of us need to hold. It’ll be the focus of my next MSNBC column.

Meanwhile, I’m trying, like so many of you, to find some semblance of joy. Music has served that purpose for me. So today’s post is about some joy, when cultures cross, and why music will forever give me hope.

Bowie in Spanish

Which is why I did want to write about a new Spanish-language version of the David Bowie 1980 classic, “Ashes to Ashes.” You know, this one, back when music videos were these new forms of art and Bowie was, well, Bowie.

It all started when René Peraza (bio here) emailed me and said, “I'm a long-time San Francisco-based actor, singer/songwriter (born in Tijuana, México). I was also the once 10-year frontman to the late Jorge Santana, brother to that Carlos (with whom we shared the stage often). I wanted to announce a new Spanish-language adaptation of my 45th anniversary tribute to David Bowie's ‘Ashes to Ashes.’ It also features my talented, San Diego-based brother, José Luis Peraza, on acoustic nylon and steel-string guitars for an ‘unplugged’ rendering that hints at flamenco. David Bowie is not an artist intrinsically linked to Latino culture in any deep way, but he has inspired many south-of-the-border, and was my main inspiration in pursuing music 40 years ago. He was my first ever concert at Oakland Stadium. I returned 22 years later to sing the Star-Spangled Banner there, but secretly realizing I was standing pretty much on the same green turf where I'd stood as a boy on that Bowie concert years before.”

I checked out the song because, to be honest, I have always been obsessed when artists take songs in English and create Spanish-language versions of them.

I kind of dug it. It was different yet not. It was Bowie in Spanish.

Our Q&A

So I sent René some questions and he shared his answers with me.

Julio Ricardo Varela: Why create a Spanish-language version of a David Bowie classic?

René Peraza: Having grown up virtually all my life in the USA, Spanish is still my first language and I often “think” in my native tongue, even when I’m listening to lyrics of other artists’ songs. As an original songwriter, that’s where my pleasure is, and I’m typically averse to cover songs unless I can bring something new to them, so I seldom do it. I did something similar to Roxy Music’s “Avalon” a few years ago as “Ilusión” and got some good press and even got the band’s attention! Since it is the 45th anniversary of “Ashes to Ashes,” I thought to myself —since David left our world back in 2016— “What would he get a kick out of that would be different and unexpected?”

JRV: In your pitch to me, you wrote, “David Bowie is not an artist intrinsically linked to Latino culture in any deep way, but he has inspired many south-of-the-border, and was my main inspiration in pursuing music 40 years ago.” Why was he that inspiration to you?

RP: René Peraza: David often spoke to the alien, the “other” in his own work. Latin America had been very traditional, safe and clean (Catholic and puritanical) when it came to their favorite artists and musical icons, but David, on the other side of the globe, was always pushing boundaries—visually, musically, even sexually! So in the ’80s, when I was becoming a songwriter and found I was not a traditional one, more left-of-center, he lit the way for me. In his words (more or less), “always tread a little farther than you think you can go safely. Only then are you starting to do real, memorable work.” I knew when I saw him live at my first concert ever in that September of 1983, that that’s what I wanted to do—or at least try.

I think David speaking to the disenfranchised through his music touched them at an almost subconscious level. If not sonically, maybe visually. These not-belonging, non-traditional folks exist in all cultures, and he may have become an ambassador to them. Unwittingly. It’s funny because he used to say he didn’t want to be a leader of any particular style or “cult,” but he seems to have transcended even his own wishes.

JRV: How was your process in taking such a classic song and making it work in Spanish?

RP: That is the challenge—the secret joy I get out of doing it. Ironically, it comes to me fairly quickly, but so do the options: I could say it this way, I could say it that way, but ultimately, it’s what the artist is saying that I cling to. And how can I use his vernacular in my native Spanish? That’s the magic sauce. There are sometimes the same euphemisms to work with, but often not. I think that’s why traditionally adapted songs in history strayed from this method. It seems easier to just craft another message—think how vastly different a song like “¿Quién será?” becomes “Sway With Me.”

JRV: I noticed your version was slower than Bowie’s. Was that a conscious choice?

RP: Interestingly enough, it’s pretty much the same tempo as the original (around 120 bpm), yet the style came as a matter of necessity. I had been working with a modern, up-tempo arrangement that featured a few of David’s original bandmates. Ultimately, I couldn’t get the rights to use that music. So, necessity being the mother of invention, I took a left turn and decided to go acoustic, tasking my brother José Luis Peraza with the nylon and steel string work. It’s mysterious how a style can impact a song even if the tempos are virtually the same. I think our instrumentation is more melancholy, and appropriately so.

JRV: How has the response been?

RP: It’s just been released and I’m not monetizing it, so no Spotify or other streaming services other than YouTube for now. It’s been steadily being heard. I’m hoping to eclipse what I got with “Ilusión.” I considered that a demo, at best, of what I could do with a “cover.” Since I don’t like to repeat myself, I’m optimistic that this unexpected musical approach to “Ashes to Ashes” is fresh to others, yet still honors a classic.

JRV: What do you want to get out of this song?

RP: Ultimately, it is a tribute to my favorite artist, and I would hope like-minded folks enjoy it as well. But I’m also hoping it will perk new ears, especially in our Spanish-speaking community. I could see doing more of these adaptations—for others, if they wanted to translate their work. But hey, maybe I’ll do a full-length collection at some point? How about Eurythmics tunes in mariachi style?

JRV: I would listen to that.

René’s tribute to Bowie is on YouTube here.

About the Author

Julio Ricardo Varela is the founder and publisher of The Latino Newsletter.

We want to keep The Latino Newsletter accessible without paywalls. To help, you can donate here. Any amount (one-time or monthly) will keep us going.

What We’re Reading

The IRS and Migrants: I mentioned it up top, but this is another detail from the Times story, “ICE officials can ask the I.R.S. for information about people who have been ordered to leave the United States or whom they are otherwise investigating.”

Do you believe in creating new journalism lanes for Latinos and Latinas? Do you believe that U.S. mainstream outlets will never understand our community? Consider donating to The Latino Newsletter. Any little bit helps to keep this newsletter free and accessible to all. ¡Gracias mil!