Lamberto Quintero Lyrics in English by Antonio Aguilar
Metralletas translates to "machine guns." It's a striking and impactful word that immediately grabs attention, especially in the context of a corrido.
In the song, Lamberto Quintero, when told they are being followed, confidently asks, "¿Pa' que son las metralletas?" (What are machine guns for?). This line highlights his fearless and defiant character, making the word central to understanding the song's narrative of a legendary figure in a dangerous world.
Antonio Aguilar sings this corrido about the killing of Lamberto Quintero, ambushed on the road to El Salado. The song fixes the date first — "Un día veintiocho de enero" [One day, the twenty-eighth of January] — then follows the truck trailing him, his companion's warning, and Lamberto brushing it off before the gunfire opens. He is talking with his girlfriend, unguarded, when "Cuando unas balas certeras / La vida le arrebataron" [When some accurate bullets / Snatched away his life]. Two days later the shooting starts again near the same bridge — "Vuelven a sonar los tiros / Ahí quedaron diez hombres" [The shots ring out again / Ten men were left there] — and the final verses name what Culiacán lost: "Que hace falta en Culiacán" [That he's missed in Culiacán].
