Through the chill of winter
Running across a frozen lake
Hunters hard on his trail
All odds are against him
With a family to provide for
But one thing he must keep alive
Will the wolf survive?
Drifting by the roadside
Climbs a strong and aging face
Wants to make some honest pay
Losing to the rainstorm
He's got two strong legs to guide him
Two strong arms keep him alive
Will the wolf survive?
Standing in the pouring rain
All alone in a world that's changed
Running scared now, forced to hide
In a land where he once stood with pride
But he'll find his way by the morning light
Sounds across the nation
Coming from your hearts and minds
Battered drums and old guitars
Singing songs of passion
It's the truth that they all work for
Something they must keep alive
Will the wolf survive?
Will the wolf survive?
~ David Hidalgo & Louis Perez (Los Lobos)
Today marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, begun in 1968 to "recognize the contributions made and the important presence of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and celebrate their heritage and culture." The month always begins on September 15, the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico, Chile, and Belize also celebrate their independence on September 15. This year's theme is "Shaping the Bright Future of America."
Louis Perez, one of the founding members of Los Lobos, had this to say about "Will the Wolf Survive?" in an interview for American Songwriter: "We (Mexican-Americans) saw the importance of preserving our culture and of passing along the traditions of our fathers. So it's all wrapped up into one song. But it's about America . . . I always thought of myself as an American kid. I grew up on Carl Reiner sitcoms. It all becomes kind of intuitive. Stuff bubbles to the top when the time calls for it. All of it is instilled in that one song." That song appears on Los Lobos' debut major label album, How Will the Wolf Survive? which came out in 1984.
Los Lobos began back in 1973 when Hidalgo and Perez were students at Dixon High School in California. The name, of course, means "the wolves." The inspiration for the song came from the cover of a National Geographic magazine with the topic "How will the wolf survive?" Hidalgo and Perez realized that the survival of the wolf offered a metaphor for a man striving to survive in a world that has outcast him. It is interesting to contemplate now, thirty-plus years after the song was recorded, how that "wolf's" survival seems even more threatened. Take, for instance, the recent controversy over the DACA program. Of the nearly 800,000 "Dreamers" affected by this issue, almost 700,000 are from Mexico and other predominantly Latino countries. But these are American kids who are, indeed, "shaping the bright future of America." With 17% of the American population being of Hispanic and Latino descent, the time for an "us versus them" mentality is long gone. The Hispanic culture, with its music, its food, its literature and art, has been woven into the fabric of American life, and we should embrace it, not deport it.
On March 31, 2012, my friend Jeff and I sat in the front row at Levon Helm's barn in Woodstock, New York, for an intimate performance by Los Lobos. The members of the band, who were great friends of Levon's, gave a rousing performance of "Will the Wolf Survive?" Sadly, less than three weeks later, on April 19, 2012, Levon died. That Midnight Ramble featuring Los Lobos turned out to be Levon's last Ramble. And I was there to shake Levon's hand and to thank him.
Sounds across the nation
Coming from your hearts and minds
Battered drums and old guitars
Singing songs of passion
It's the truth that they all look for
Something they must keep alive
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| Los Lobos at Levon's barn 3/31/12 |
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