Juan Gabriel in his prime, Venezuela, 1987.
Juan Gabriel is inarguably one of the greatest singer-songwriters in the history of Mexican music. He’s written so many amazing timeless and classic songs but it’s this performance of Costumbres I find the most engaging. An incredibly romantic anti-love song.
Banda Recodo’s version is pretty good too.
Letras
Háblame de ti
Cuéntame de tu vida
Sabes tu muy bien
Que yo estoy convencida
Sé que tu no puedes
Aunque intentes, olvidarme
Siempre volverás
Una y otra vez,
Una y otra vez
Siempre volverás
Aunque ya no sientas mas amor por mi
Solo rencor
Yo tampoco
Tengo nada que sentir
Y eso es peor
Pero te extraño, también te extraño
No cabe duda que es verdad que la costumbre
Es mas fuerte que el amor.Sé que tu no puedes
Aunque intentes, olvidarme
Siempre volverás
Una y otra vez,
Una y otra vez
Siempre volverás
Aunque ya no sientas mas amor por mi
Solo rencor
Yo tampoco
Tengo nada que sentir
Y eso es peor
Pero te extraño, como te extraño
No cabe duda que es verdad que la costumbre
Es mas fuerte que el amor.No cabe duda que es verdad que la costumbre
Es mas fuerte que el amor.
I’ve always believed that the best male singer of Juan Gabriel songs (apart from Juanga himself) is Julio Preciado. Preciado’s clarity, strength, pitch and control really set him apart from all other banda singers. Without him, el Recodo hasn’t been as great.
This is the first time I hear Juanga singing this song. I’ve always heard the RocÃo Durcal version because it’s the one I learned with mariachis. Juanga had such a tremendous voice and stage presence. See this video and imagine another performer doing that in front of such a large audience!
Thanks for the link! Wow, that was at the Rose Bowl too? What a crowd!
I first heard Costumbres done by Banda El Recodo, it was on the radio like twenty times a day and I still went out and bought the CD. I only recently discovered “Juanga’s” version which I think is even better. I’m not a big fan of Rocio Durcal but I can see how her version is more adaptable to Mariachi. And hey, is it me or are those mariachis backing up Juanga a little off?
that dimple…!
Oh, Juanga… The man is a genius.
The songs I remembers singing most as a kid were by Ramon Ayala, the Beatles and Juan Gabriel. All three are captured on home video somewhere.