WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.439 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we're looking 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:06.339 at a story that, ah, honestly, it seems impossible. 00:00:06.860 --> 00:00:08.800 It's a weird one. It's a really weird one. You 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:13.679 have a 1970s Latin pop superstar on one hand 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:16.800 and Pope John Paul II on the other. Right. Not 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:19.760 exactly a natural pairing. No. But that's exactly 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:21.620 what we're getting into today. We're doing a 00:00:21.620 --> 00:00:24.899 deep dive into the song Amigo by the, I mean, 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:27.960 the legendary Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos. 00:00:28.140 --> 00:00:31.510 Amigo. friend such a simple title deceptively 00:00:31.510 --> 00:00:34.009 simple because our mission today is to figure 00:00:34.009 --> 00:00:36.369 out how this one ballad which was basically about 00:00:36.369 --> 00:00:39.229 friendship between two guys somehow became this 00:00:39.229 --> 00:00:42.570 like accidental anthem for a people visit and 00:00:42.570 --> 00:00:45.130 not just that it topped the charts twice a year 00:00:45.130 --> 00:00:47.549 apart a year apart and then decades later it 00:00:47.549 --> 00:00:49.750 comes back as a salsa hit it's just it's a wild 00:00:49.750 --> 00:00:52.289 ride it really is a perfect example of how a 00:00:52.289 --> 00:00:54.979 song with a you know A really pure, universal 00:00:54.979 --> 00:00:57.700 message can just cross every border imaginable. 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:00.039 Languages, genres, you name it. It's kind of 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:02.299 about cultural serendipity. I love that phrase. 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:05.260 Okay, so let's start at the beginning. 1977. 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:09.799 The song itself. We have to clear up a big misconception 00:01:09.799 --> 00:01:12.219 right off the bat, don't we? About the songwriters. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:15.540 We do. The credit reads, Erasmo Carlos and Roberto 00:01:15.540 --> 00:01:17.620 Carlos. And you immediately think, okay, brothers. 00:01:17.879 --> 00:01:21.340 It's the logical leap, but no. No relation at 00:01:21.340 --> 00:01:23.980 all. Nope. Just a coincidence. They shared a 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:26.359 surname. They were just these incredibly close, 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.200 longtime songwriting partners. And they had their 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:31.739 roles down, right? Oh, yeah. A very clear division. 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:35.090 Erasmo typically handled the music. And Roberto, 00:01:35.290 --> 00:01:37.370 he wrote the lyrics. Okay, so maybe not Brothers 00:01:37.370 --> 00:01:39.849 by Blood, but this song is definitely about that 00:01:39.849 --> 00:01:42.909 kind of bond. It is, 100%. Roberto Carlos actually 00:01:42.909 --> 00:01:45.689 wrote the lyrics of Amigo as a dedication to 00:01:45.689 --> 00:01:48.150 Erasmo. So it's a tribute. A direct tribute. 00:01:48.269 --> 00:01:50.150 And the lyrics, I mean, they're not just surface 00:01:50.150 --> 00:01:52.349 level, you're my buddy stuff. They talk about 00:01:52.349 --> 00:01:54.510 a friendship that's been through hard times. 00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:57.579 you know, survived. I was looking at some of 00:01:57.579 --> 00:01:59.819 the translated lines. There's that one piece 00:01:59.819 --> 00:02:01.659 of imagery that really stands out. He calls his 00:02:01.659 --> 00:02:04.659 friend a man with the heart of a child. Yes. 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:08.340 Hold on to that line. A man with the heart of 00:02:08.340 --> 00:02:12.360 a child. It's going to become very, very important 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:14.460 a little later in the story. And he also says 00:02:14.460 --> 00:02:16.979 his friend's heart is a house with open doors. 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:20.900 It's just so open and vulnerable. Exactly. And 00:02:20.900 --> 00:02:23.439 that vulnerability. is what led it travel see 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:26.759 it came out in portuguese in 77 but roberto carlos 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:29.479 he was already a massive star and he had this 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:32.099 strategy the spanish version the spanish version 00:02:32.099 --> 00:02:34.439 it was his standard practice he'd re -record 00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:36.919 his biggest hits in spanish to really conquer 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:39.039 the rest of the latin american market He didn't 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:40.939 do the translations himself, though? No, for 00:02:40.939 --> 00:02:43.479 Amigo, he brought in an Argentine brother and 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:47.080 sister team, Buddy and Mary McCluskey. The McCluskeys. 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:49.259 The McCluskeys. And they did a really faithful 00:02:49.259 --> 00:02:51.400 adaptation. The meaning, the sentiment, it's 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:53.900 all there. And that single had a B -side, uh, 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:57.120 No pego vides de mi. Which means, don't forget 00:02:57.120 --> 00:02:59.719 about me. A little ironic, considering no one 00:02:59.719 --> 00:03:01.819 could forget the A -side. Not a chance. It was 00:03:01.819 --> 00:03:04.319 a smash hit. In Mexico, it hit number one on 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:08.219 the week of March 10th, 1978. Okay, so. March 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:12.740 78. It's a number one hit. Story over, Ray. Just 00:03:12.740 --> 00:03:14.819 another successful pop song. If that's where 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:17.500 it ended, it would be a nice footnote in his 00:03:17.500 --> 00:03:19.300 career. But this is where the story gets really 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:23.439 good. We need to jump forward to January 1979. 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.500 And this is a huge moment in Mexican history. 00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:29.199 Pope John Paul II is coming to visit. We have 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:31.819 to stress this wasn't just any visit. No, this 00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:34.000 was the first time a pope had ever visited Mexico. 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:37.360 The cultural significance, the excitement, you 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:39.479 just can't overstate it. So the Pope's coming. 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:42.460 And on January 30th, he's scheduled to visit 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:45.159 a private Catholic school, the Instituto Miguel 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:48.060 Ango. Right. And the plan is for him to be greeted 00:03:48.060 --> 00:03:50.199 with a performance by some of the students. Yeah. 00:03:50.199 --> 00:03:52.039 The Children's Rondalla of the Collegio Mexico 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:54.439 and the Studentina of the Institute. So like 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:56.879 very traditional student music groups. Exactly. 00:03:56.919 --> 00:03:59.000 Lots of acoustic guitars, mandolins, that kind 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:01.240 of thing. Very formal. And they had a set list 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:03.539 figured out. Almost. They had two songs locked 00:04:03.539 --> 00:04:07.259 in. Tu eres Pedro, you are Peter, which is very 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:09.599 on brand for the Pope. Makes sense. And the other 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:14.120 was Hymno a la Alegria, the hymn to joy, Beethoven. 00:04:14.819 --> 00:04:17.199 Classics. But they were stuck on the third song. 00:04:17.339 --> 00:04:19.920 Totally stuck. The organizers just could not 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:21.980 agree. And time is running out. They're making 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:24.040 these poor kids rehearse all these different 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:26.620 options and nothing is working. You can just 00:04:26.620 --> 00:04:29.279 picture the scene, can't you? A room full of 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:32.519 stressed out school administrators and just like. 00:04:32.939 --> 00:04:37.079 100 exhausted children. It's pure chaos. But 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:39.139 it's also where the magic happens. This is my 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:40.899 favorite part of the story. So they're at a total 00:04:40.899 --> 00:04:43.300 impasse. And from the back of the room, this 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:45.040 little voice pipes up. One of the kid singers. 00:04:45.259 --> 00:04:47.620 Just a tired kid. And he shouts, why don't we 00:04:47.620 --> 00:04:50.319 sing Amigo? The Pope says that us children are 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:53.259 his friends. That's the quote. The simple, perfect 00:04:53.259 --> 00:04:55.379 logic of a child. It just cuts through everything. 00:04:55.560 --> 00:04:58.379 All the bureaucracy, all the debate. This kid 00:04:58.379 --> 00:05:00.160 is just like, he's our friend. Let's sing the 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:02.100 friend song. And the organizers, they just heard 00:05:02.100 --> 00:05:06.000 it and went, yes. They accepted the idea immediately. 00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:09.399 And just like that, this pop song about two songwriters 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:11.540 is on the official program for a papal visit. 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:14.399 That moment changed everything for this song. 00:05:14.620 --> 00:05:19.040 So January 30th arrives, the Pope is there. And 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:21.480 the children perform their three songs, Dores 00:05:21.480 --> 00:05:26.120 Pedro, Himno a la Alegría, and then Amigo. And 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:28.540 the reaction. It was immediate. The whole visit 00:05:28.540 --> 00:05:30.920 was being televised, broadcast everywhere. So 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:32.819 when the story got out that this popular song 00:05:32.819 --> 00:05:35.339 was part of the welcome, public interest just 00:05:35.339 --> 00:05:37.800 exploded. Radio stations must have jumped all 00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:39.740 over that. They put it back into heavy rotation 00:05:39.740 --> 00:05:42.899 immediately. But the record label, Musart Records, 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:45.220 they were really clever. What did they do? They 00:05:45.220 --> 00:05:47.000 didn't just push the Roberto Carlos version. 00:05:47.180 --> 00:05:49.899 They rushed the actual kids from the school into 00:05:49.899 --> 00:05:52.920 a studio. No way. The Rondala and the Estudiantina. 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:55.220 The very same. They had them record their own 00:05:55.220 --> 00:05:57.220 version. It was a little slower. And they added 00:05:57.220 --> 00:06:00.379 an accordion to give it this really traditional 00:06:00.379 --> 00:06:03.480 folksy sound. And how did they market it? They 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:06.470 were not subtle. The album cover was a big photo 00:06:06.470 --> 00:06:09.550 of the Pope, and the tagline was literally, The 00:06:09.550 --> 00:06:11.449 Children Who Sang for His Holiness John Paul 00:06:11.449 --> 00:06:14.850 II. Wow. Okay, so that's pretty direct. And it 00:06:14.850 --> 00:06:18.949 worked. It created this chart anomaly you almost 00:06:18.949 --> 00:06:21.209 never see. Right, because the song hit number 00:06:21.209 --> 00:06:24.589 one in March of 78. Correct. But then, on March 00:06:24.589 --> 00:06:28.600 30, 1979, More than a year later, the original 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:31.220 Roberto Carlos version went back to number one 00:06:31.220 --> 00:06:33.560 in Mexico. It had a second run at number one. 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:35.819 For two weeks. And the children's version was 00:06:35.819 --> 00:06:38.819 a huge seller, too. It's so rare for a song to 00:06:38.819 --> 00:06:41.660 have two separate peaks like that, driven by 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:44.769 a news event. The song basically became a hymn 00:06:44.769 --> 00:06:47.509 in the public mind. It did. And Roberto Carlos 00:06:47.509 --> 00:06:49.589 himself, he sort of acknowledged that. What did 00:06:49.589 --> 00:06:51.750 he say about it? He was quoted as saying he really 00:06:51.750 --> 00:06:53.769 appreciated it. He just said, I am religious, 00:06:54.009 --> 00:06:56.589 I'm Catholic, I like messages. I like messages. 00:06:56.689 --> 00:06:59.250 Very understated. I think he knew the song wasn't 00:06:59.250 --> 00:07:01.689 just his anymore. It belonged to this moment. 00:07:01.910 --> 00:07:04.170 And when a song becomes a moment like that, it 00:07:04.170 --> 00:07:06.629 starts showing up elsewhere. Which brings us 00:07:06.629 --> 00:07:09.610 to 1980. The movie. There's a movie called Amigo. 00:07:09.790 --> 00:07:12.550 Yep. And it's a really interesting piece of media 00:07:12.550 --> 00:07:15.629 because it kind of blurs the line between a fictional 00:07:15.629 --> 00:07:19.069 story and a documentary. It starred a huge child 00:07:19.069 --> 00:07:21.649 actor at the time, Pedro Fernandez. Right. He 00:07:21.649 --> 00:07:24.050 was a massive singer and actor. And the plot 00:07:24.050 --> 00:07:26.709 of the movie is basically a retelling of this 00:07:26.709 --> 00:07:29.589 exact event. A reenactment of the kids singing 00:07:29.589 --> 00:07:32.730 for the Pope. Sort of. The climax of the film 00:07:32.730 --> 00:07:35.089 is Pedro Fernandez's character in the choir. 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:38.459 Singing Amigo for the Pope. But the kicker is 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:42.720 they mix in actual documentary footage from the 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:45.459 Pope's real visit to the Basilica of Our Lady 00:07:45.459 --> 00:07:47.779 of Guadalupe. So you're watching the movie, but 00:07:47.779 --> 00:07:50.100 you're also seeing the real Pope. It completely 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:52.600 cemented the song's connection to that historical 00:07:52.600 --> 00:07:55.459 moment. If you saw that film, Amigo and Pope 00:07:55.459 --> 00:07:58.399 John Paul II were linked forever in your mind. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:00.319 It's amazing how it became this perfect little 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:02.959 time capsule. But the story doesn't stop in the 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:05.540 80s. Not even close. We have to fast forward 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:07.600 again all the way to 2004. And this is where 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:09.800 Marc Anthony comes in. Exactly. Marc Anthony, 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:12.620 now a global superstar, decides to cover Amigo. 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:14.480 And he does it twice. What do you mean twice? 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:16.879 Well, he released two albums at roughly the same 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:19.540 time. One was a pop album, Amaris and Mentiras. 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:22.160 And the other was a salsa album, Valio La Pena. 00:08:22.339 --> 00:08:25.279 And Amigo is on both of them. It is. You get 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.300 the ballad version, which is pretty faithful 00:08:27.300 --> 00:08:31.310 to the original. But the salsa version. That's 00:08:31.310 --> 00:08:33.590 where it got a whole new life. One critic called 00:08:33.590 --> 00:08:36.289 it tasty, right? That's the word. From the province. 00:08:36.649 --> 00:08:39.710 They praised its multiple horn lines. And you 00:08:39.710 --> 00:08:43.049 have to admit, turning this slow, heartfelt ballad 00:08:43.049 --> 00:08:46.470 into a salsa track is a bold move. Yeah, salsa 00:08:46.470 --> 00:08:51.169 is all about high energy dancing. Amigo is. Quiet 00:08:51.169 --> 00:08:54.049 reflection. But it works. The melody is so strong 00:08:54.049 --> 00:08:56.250 that when you put that driving rhythm and those 00:08:56.250 --> 00:08:59.450 bright horns behind it, it transforms the feeling 00:08:59.450 --> 00:09:03.389 from quiet appreciation into like a joyous celebration 00:09:03.389 --> 00:09:05.169 of friendship. Did it do well in the charts? 00:09:05.669 --> 00:09:08.090 It did. The salsa version hit number four on 00:09:08.090 --> 00:09:10.490 the Billboard Tropical Airplay chart. So almost 00:09:10.490 --> 00:09:13.169 30 years after it was written, it's a hit again 00:09:13.169 --> 00:09:15.629 in a totally new genre. It just shows you how 00:09:15.629 --> 00:09:17.769 durable that song is. And Marc Anthony didn't 00:09:17.769 --> 00:09:19.830 just keep it in the studio. No, he performed 00:09:19.830 --> 00:09:22.590 it live with other huge stars like Cheyenne and 00:09:22.590 --> 00:09:24.909 Alejandro Fernandez. That's a Latin music royal 00:09:24.909 --> 00:09:27.009 flush right there. It is. It proves the song 00:09:27.009 --> 00:09:28.789 had become, you know, a standard that's part 00:09:28.789 --> 00:09:30.909 of the canon now. When you lay it all out like 00:09:30.909 --> 00:09:34.690 that, a song between friends in Brazil. translated 00:09:34.690 --> 00:09:37.830 by siblings in Argentina, shouted out by a tired 00:09:37.830 --> 00:09:40.730 kid in Mexico, performed for the Pope, turned 00:09:40.730 --> 00:09:43.649 into a movie, and then reborn as a salsa hit. 00:09:43.750 --> 00:09:45.929 It all comes back to that one line for me, a 00:09:45.929 --> 00:09:49.009 heart of a child. How so? Well, think about it. 00:09:49.070 --> 00:09:52.070 The song's core message is about having the heart 00:09:52.070 --> 00:09:54.409 of a child. And who's the hero of the story? 00:09:54.549 --> 00:09:58.309 Who changes the song's destiny? A child. A child. 00:09:58.649 --> 00:10:01.230 Who starred in the movie that cemented its legacy, 00:10:01.429 --> 00:10:04.600 Pedro Fernandez, A Child. It's like the song's 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:06.820 own lyrics predicted its path. Wow, I never put 00:10:06.820 --> 00:10:08.480 that together. That's a beautiful way to look 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:10.620 at it. It's just a reminder that in a world of 00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:13.779 complex geopolitics, which a papal visit definitely 00:10:13.779 --> 00:10:16.039 is, sometimes the simplest message is the one 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:18.159 that breaks through. Friendship. It's a message 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:19.940 that works for your best friend, and it works 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:21.940 for a religious figure, and it works on a dance 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:24.559 floor. It's fundamental. So really, the history 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:27.039 of a song isn't just about sales figures. No, 00:10:27.080 --> 00:10:30.899 the charts are just numbers. The real story is 00:10:30.899 --> 00:10:33.500 what happens around the song. If that kid in 00:10:33.500 --> 00:10:37.220 the rehearsal hadn't spoken up, Amigo would still 00:10:37.220 --> 00:10:40.620 be a great song. But it would be this song. History 00:10:40.620 --> 00:10:43.759 is so often made in those small, unrecorded moments. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:45.720 It really makes you wonder how many other songs 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:47.779 are out there just waiting for their moment. 00:10:48.269 --> 00:10:50.649 waiting for the right tired kid to shout them 00:10:50.649 --> 00:10:53.330 out the potential is always there so to wrap 00:10:53.330 --> 00:10:55.889 this all up we've gone from a songwriting session 00:10:55.889 --> 00:11:00.250 to a papal serenade to a salsa club all carried 00:11:00.250 --> 00:11:02.769 by that one pure message that heart of a child 00:11:02.769 --> 00:11:05.269 idea and it leaves me with this one last thought 00:11:05.269 --> 00:11:07.690 for you to chew on we talk about being in the 00:11:07.690 --> 00:11:09.860 right place at the right time But I can't get 00:11:09.860 --> 00:11:12.120 past the image of that one kid in that rehearsal 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:14.720 hall. The catalyst. The catalyst. If he'd been 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:16.980 a little less bold or the organizers a little 00:11:16.980 --> 00:11:18.879 more dismissive, would we even be talking about 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:20.700 this? Would Amigo just be another track on a 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:22.820 Greatest Hits album? It makes you think about 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:25.259 how fragile these cultural moments really are. 00:11:25.740 --> 00:11:28.120 Exactly. So maybe the next time you're in a room 00:11:28.120 --> 00:11:30.320 and you have an idea that seems a little out 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:32.899 of left field, maybe you should just shout it 00:11:32.899 --> 00:11:34.960 out. You never know. You might just make history. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:37.039 Or get a song to number one for a second time. 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:40.299 That too. Thanks for taking this dive with us. 00:11:40.500 --> 00:11:41.860 My pleasure. We'll see you next time.