From Wikipedea regarding the song "La Cucaracha"
The Mexican Revolution, from 1910 to about 1920, was a period of great political upheaval during which the majority of the stanzas known today were written. Political symbolism was a common theme in these verses, and explicit and implicit references were made to events of the war, major political figures, and the effects of the war on the civilians in general. Today, few pre-Revolution verses are known, and the most commonly quoted portion of the song[1] is the two Villist anti-Huerta[4] stanzas:
Spanish English
La cucaracha, la cucaracha, The cockroach, the cockroach,
ya no puede caminar can't walk anymore
porque le falta, porque no tiene because it's lacking, because it doesn't have
marihuana pa' fumar. marijuana to smoke.
Ya murió la cucaracha The cockroach just died
ya la llevan a enterrar now they take her to be buried
entre cuatro zopilotes among four buzzards
y un ratón de sacristán. and a mouse as the sexton.
This version, popular among Villist soldiers, contains hidden political meanings, as is common for revolutionary songs. In this version, the cockroach represents President Victoriano Huerta, a notorious drunk who was considered a villain and traitor due to his part in the death of revolutionary President Francisco Madero.
