La cucaracha, la cucaracha, lalalala…
Yup, that’s my first thought, and yes, it has to be the opening of this piece.
Look, I love it when I hear the mariachi. The lyrics may not always be funny, but the music certainly is always fun.
I also love my brothers and sisters from Mexico. They are jovial with a positive outlook on life. When the skies are gray, they bring in some of the sunshine in.
I worked with one lady who would randomly start singing these cute tunes. Once she would translate the lyrics for us, we would all have a good giggle. This opened a door to this amazing world of instant day-brighteners.
So, today I’ll brighten your day with a couple of funny Mexican songs. I don’t know if you’re here because you are learning Spanish or because you were looking for something to lift your mood, but you’re in the right place.
I was putting this list together after a very heavy and miserable day. It didn’t take long for me to regain my smile, and I had that smile on even after falling asleep. If some of these songs don’t brighten your mood, I don’t know what will. Maybe the whole playlist?
Top 15 Funny Mexican Songs
1. Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga – Háblame De Ti.
I guess this song will set the tone for most of this list. Comedy doesn’t always happen on purpose.
I guess handsome Sergio tried to make a song about meeting the love of his life, but he paid dearly for not investing in a better video director.
Watch the video once to enjoy all the cringe, then pour yourself a shot of tequila and listen to the song on its own. It’s rather good.
2. Los Socios Del Ritmo – Llorar (Cry).
I’m no stranger to Los Socios Del Ritmo. I’m not including them here because of a silly tune or funny lyrics, but their ability to make you smile and even laugh.
I don’t know that many performers that can make you dance happily to a song about crying. They have other funny tracks in their catalog, but I had to include this one to show that one doesn’t have to clown around to make you want to smile.
3. Los Ángeles Azules – 17 Años (17 Years).
I read so many interviews where a band would announce they are splitting up because they think they have nothing else to contribute. I guess that’s the best way to go instead of starting to write questionable lyrics.
They say comedy is tragedy plus time. I don’t think there has been enough time for this song yet. So, here are some sick guitar shreds to compensate.
4. Los Tigres Del Norte – La Puerta Negra.
When I first heard this song, I thought it was either a case of a song not aging well at all or someone putting together a parody of Mexican music. It’s so bad, it’s good.
I think that the last line describes everything perfectly, “La Puerta Negra sale sobrando.”
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5. Los Tucanes De Tijuana – La Chona.
I think we had an attempt at a song about a femme fatale. She enjoys the nightlife so much that it’s bothering her husband and leading other people to gossip about her.
And what scandalous thing is she doing? She’s dancing! Gasp!
I don’t blame her, though. As with all the funny Mexican songs, the tune is very catchy.
6. Vicente Fernández – Volver, Volver (Come Back, Come Back).
Vincente missed that day in school when they taught that you should make the listener cry, not fill your song with a lot of crying noises.
I mean, I was crying, but from laughter, every time, the fake weeping would start. I thought I was into one of those classic Mexican love songs, but boy, did I get more than I bargained for.
7. Los Hijos Del Pueblo – El Botecito (The Little Boat).
No one will ever persuade me that this song isn’t just a bunch of random things thrown together with no rational purpose.
The band is obviously used to doing live events. Maybe one night, they ran out of ideas about what to perform. Or the singer forgot the lyrics of another song?
Luckily for him, they were on a boat with a lot of dancing people. Inspiration hit, and the rest is history.
8. Ulices Chaidez – ¿Por Que Me Enamoré? (Because I Fell In Love?)
“But, moooom, I don’t want to play the tuba! It’s so not cool!”
Look, they tried. This was obviously supposed to be a song about true love and it overcoming everything. However.
If you ever wanted the see the value of telling your children no, this is it. Shame, because with better execution, this could have been a heart-wrencher, not a comedy.
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9. Hechizeros Band – El Sonidito (The Little Sound).
I know what you were thinking for the past 25 years. You wished that your Nokia ringtone selection menu could grow up and become a song.
No, none of those easy-to-recognize melodies, but the ones that are only a series of ticks.
Well, someone made your wish come true ages ago, you just didn’t know it. They also threw in a few odd “uno, dos, tres, quarto” moments, just to spice everything up.
10. Los Tucanes De Tijuana – El Tucanazo.
This is one of those tunes you’ve heard before but do not know where. It could be because this is someone’s second appearance on this list, or maybe it’s just one of those songs. We’ll never know.
El Tucanazo is a cute little dance that you can learn by watching the video and following the instructions. Tuca, tuca, then nazo, nazo. It couldn’t be any clearer.
11. Fito Olivares y Su Grupo – La Cobra.
What would happen in a Middle-Eastern snake charmer took a wrong turn and found himself in Mexico? He would start a band and teach people how to calm nervous cobras through song.
This track is a bit silly, but check out the rest of his work. My man Fito knows his way around a sax.
12. Miguel Y Miguel – Sonora Y Sus Ojos Negros (Lady With Black Eyes).
This is actually a lovely song. It’s a simple story of a narrator meeting a beautiful lady, then listing a lot of places on a bus route.
Okay, I’ll say it. Miguel and Miguel need to break up and see other people. Most of the funny comes from them sounding like they are drunk while not even trying to harmonize.
I bet they could also go at it alone, and then we can have twice as many songs about beautiful ladies and bus trips.
13. Control – Tao, Tao.
You saw it right. There is no translation for Tao Tao. It’s very similar to trying to throw some beats while repeating “boots and cats.”
That’s pretty much it until you see the video. I don’t think that the band meant to make a funny song, but they did it anyway.
Silly lyrics, silly video with a sprinkle of cringe. But, as is the nature of funny Mexican songs, it has a nice rhythm to it.
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14. Mala Fe – La Vaca (The Cow).
This complex lyrical, philosophical analysis revisits the ancient relationship between sexes and how their environment something something…
It’s a song about a cow. The narrator has a cow, and his neighbor has a bull that has set his sights on her. It’s that silly. So ridiculous that even the pretty ladies in the video can’t save it.
But I warn you, listen at your own peril. Yes, you’ll sit there with a weird look on your face, then the song will move in and live rent-free in your head for weeks!
15. Banda Zeta – La Niña Fresa (Strawberry Girl).
Ah, the pains of having a picky girlfriend.
Our narrator has a super sweet girl he loves very much but has one issue with her. When they go out, he can’t figure out which refreshments to pick up for the girl.
But, who is the silly one in this situation? Someone who refuses everything from beer to banana splits? Or a person who names someone a Strawberry Girl but offers them everything from beer to banana splits, except strawberries?
Last Words
If you liked that, there’s a lot more of it where it’s coming from. When I first started making this funny Mexican songs list, I have over a hundred tracks I wanted to include.
This was truly a fun exercise, so continue exploring after you’re done with the songs listed above.
I just have a couple of additional words before I go. I know you wonder why I didn’t include La Cucaracha, even after essentially opening the article with it.
Just because a song about a cockroach that lost its legs may sound funny to us, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a deeper meaning to someone else. It has some historical significance, so it would be insensitive to include it today.
