Five Minutes with . . .

Pepe Ramos was born in Collantes, Oaxaca, but lives mostly now in Acapulco, where he launched his career singing ballads and pop music in the the major hotels.

Now Pepe is an acknowledged master of the upbeat Chilena music, the sound and the soul of the coast and of its people. Chilena songs are built on an eight-syllable structure, preceded or followed by a chorus that alternates with sections that are purely instrumental.

The lyrics speak of every day life, referring to love, women, elements of nature such as crops or animals, or paeans to the hometown. Some of the lyrics are quite risque, often spoken verses in the middle of the song, making reference to the shortcomings of partners, cheating and general carrying on. They are spoken in a very slangy Spanish and are often difficult to understand, but they have the audience hooting with delight.

"I want to try to internationalize the chilena. It's the music I love, they're my roots, because I was born listening to this music.

"Everybody loves this music.- It's happy, it makes people get up and move and the verses can be quite naughty. I know because the naughtiest lyrics are the ones that I write!"

Pepe Ramos has a new release due out this month. You can find it, along with his three other recordings, at Universo Musical record store (near the Ahorrará supermarket), where we caught up with him last month before his performance at the Easter cockfights.