Maguey refers to the agave plant, a plant native to Mexico that is used to make tequila and mezcal. It's a word deeply rooted in Mexican culture and not commonly found in everyday Spanish songs.
In "La Ley Del Monte," the maguey serves as a silent witness to a love story, with the lovers carving their names into its leaves. This unique use of the plant as a symbol of enduring love and a keeper of secrets makes the word particularly interesting and memorable in the context of the song.
Vicente Fernández tells a story of young love and a broken promise in "La Ley Del Monte" [The Law of the Mountain]. Our singer carved his and his lover's names into a maguey cactus, a plant often associated with the Mexican countryside. He remembers, "Grabé en la penca de un maguey tú nombre Unido al mío, entrelazados" [I carved your name on a maguey leaf, united with mine, intertwined]. It was a public declaration of their love, a "prueba ante la ley del monte" [proof before the law of the mountain]. She even helped choose the perfect leaf and suggested adding two hearts with an arrow!
But as love often goes, things changed. Now she claims she doesn't remember, that it was all just words. Ouch! He's calm, though, because he believes "En nuestro idilio las pencas hablan" [In our idyll the maguey leaves speak]. The song takes a turn for the dramatic when he reveals that the night she changed her mind, she cut off that very leaf, thinking it would erase the evidence. But the maguey, oh the maguey, remembers! And in a truly magical (or maybe a little spooky?) twist, he sings, "Las pencas nuevas que al maguey le brotan Vienen marcadas con nuestros nombres" [The new leaves that sprout on the maguey come marked with our names]. Talk about a love that won't be forgotten!
Vicente Fernández grew up on his father's ranch outside Guadalajara, in Jalisco, and started out singing for tips on the street before signing with CBS México in 1966. His early records like "Perdóname" and "Cantina del Barrio" built his name, but it was 1976's "Volver, Volver" that turned him into a national phenomenon across Mexico and the wider Spanish-speaking world.
Fans came to call him "El Ídolo de México," and critics crowned him the King of Ranchera for his warm, aching tenor and the way he sang about heartbreak, betrayal, and rural life with equal conviction. He recorded well over a hundred albums across his career, including El Rey, Mi Querido Viejo, and a tribute record to songwriter José Alfredo Jiménez, and sold more than 70 million records before his death in 2021 at 81.