El Gran Varón Lyrics in English by Willie Colón

Carterón is the augmentative form of cartera (purse), meaning a large purse or handbag. It's a unique and visually descriptive word you won't hear in most songs.

In this classic salsa narrative, the main character, Simón, moves abroad and transforms his appearance, using "falda, lápiz labial, y un carterón" (a skirt, lipstick, and a large handbag). This specific word is a powerful symbol of his new identity, directly challenging the strict "gran varón" (great man) role his father forced upon him.

This salsa track tells a whole life story in just a few minutes, and it's a heavy one. Willie Colón introduces us to Simón, who is born in 1956. His father, Don Andrés, is so proud to have a son and raises him with a 'mano dura' [heavy hand], telling him he must grow up to be a 'gran varón' [a great man]. But when Simón moves abroad, he starts to live his truth. He changes how he walks, wears a 'falda, lápiz labial, y un carterón' [skirt, lipstick, and a big purse]. The real drama starts when his father pays a surprise visit and doesn't even recognize his own child.

The song doesn't hold back on the consequences of the father's rejection. After Simón reveals himself, his father, worried about 'lo que dice la gente' [what people say], abandons him completely. The chorus uses a tough old proverb, 'Palo que nace doblado, jamás su tronco endereza' [A tree that's born bent, its trunk never straightens], to comment on how nature can't be changed. The story ends tragically in 1986, when Simón dies alone in a hospital from a 'extraña enfermedad' [strange illness], and 'nadie lloró' [nobody cried]. The song finishes by turning the tables on the listener, asking for compassion and warning that the one 'que nunca perdona' [who never forgives] is destined to live in their 'propio infierno' [own hell].