美国国家公共电台 NPR A Town In Mexico Sees Guitar Sales Soar Thanks To The Movie 'Coco'

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

The Disney Pixar movie "Coco" is a favorite to win an Oscar next month. It's the story of a small boy, Miguel, who dreams of becoming a musician even though his parents don't want him to. Along the way, he finds family, tradition and a magnificent white guitar encrusted with pearl details and a black skull¹. Real-life sales of that guitar have soared thanks to the movie, and a small town in Mexico's western highlands famous for its guitar makers³ is getting a lot of attention. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE⁴: There isn't much traffic for the lone⁵ cop on the main street of Paracho to direct. After all, the town boasts of having more guitars than cars.

(SOUNDBITE OF WHISTLE)

KAHN: And guitars here are selling like hotcakes, says souvenir shopkeeper Claudia Rodriguez de Velasquez. Ever since "Coco" debuted⁶ last year, she says she can't keep the famous white guitars on her shelves.

CLAUDIA RODRIGUEZ DE VELASQUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "It's impressive. Everyone's gone loco, crazy for 'Coco,'" she says.

RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: She runs her fingers over a dozen Post-it notes attached to a wall by her cash register, all back orders. Her family's guitar factory down the road is churning out as many as 1,500 instruments a week, she says, the vast majority of them painted white. And it's not just the "Coco"-inspired guitar selling out here. There's a run on all kinds of instruments made in Paracho.

(SOUNDBITE OF WOODWORKING)

KAHN: Cesar Ivan Lemus shaves flat the wooden neck of a large guitarron favored by mariachi bands in his dusty workshop above his house. He says he's filling orders as fast as he can, selling mainly to mariachi schools and stores in Texas and California.

CESAR IVAN LEMUS: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "We are so proud that Pixar turned to a Mexican artisan to design 'Coco's' guitar," he says, "and not just any Mexican - a former Paracho resident." Now living in Los Angeles, 65-year-old German Vazquez worked with Pixar on the guitar. Although he left Paracho back in the '70s, the small town hasn't forgotten him. This weekend, they're throwing him a huge tribute. They've decorated several streets to look like the village in "Coco" and covered the huge bronze guitar at the town's entrance all in white. Jesus Ocampo, who works for the local government, says it's time one of Paracho's gifted guitar makers got some overdue⁷ credit.

JESUS OCAMPO: There are a lot of people here in Paracho that have made guitar for very famous musicians around the world, but they are practically anonymous⁸.

KAHN: And he says many of their guitars are sold under famous labels, also without any recognition.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUITAR TUNING)

KAHN: Master artisan and cousin of "Coco's" guitar maker² Arnulfo Rubio Orozco tightens⁹ the strings¹⁰ on an instrument he's been working on for a month. With pearl details and wood from southern Mexico, it will fetch about $2,000, a price unheard of in his great grandfather's days. Rubio is a fourth-generation guitar maker.

ARNULFO RUBIO OROZCO: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "My dad didn't want me to make guitars," says Rubio. Instead he was sent to work winters in a Christmas tree farm in North Carolina. To learn, I had to sneak¹¹ around, ducking into other guitar makers' workshops, he says. Oh, just like Miguel in "Coco," I blurt¹² out. He hid his dreams to be a musician from his family.

(Speaking Spanish).

RUBIO: (Speaking Spanish, laughter).

KAHN: He laughs, "yeah, me too. I guess the story repeats itself again," Rubio chuckles¹³. He says he'll have to take my word for it, though. He hasn't seen "Coco." The town is too small. It doesn't have a movie theater. Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Paracho, Michoacan.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "COCO")

ANTHONY GONZALEZ: (As Miguel, singing) In every beat of my proud corazon.

1 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

6 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

7 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

8 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

9 tightens   

收紧( tighten的第三人称单数 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• One set of provisions tightens emission standards. 一套使排放标准更加严格的规定。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Requires no special tools or fittings; hand tightens to relief valve outlet. 不需要专用工具或管件；用手将其紧固到安全阀上即可。

10 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

11 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

12 blurt   

vt.突然说出，脱口说出

参考例句：

• If you can blurt out 300 sentences,you can make a living in America.如果你能脱口而出300句英语，你可以在美国工作。
• I will blurt out one passage every week.我每星期要脱口而出一篇短文！

13 chuckles   

轻声地笑( chuckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Father always chuckles when he reads the funny papers. 父亲在读幽默报纸时总是低声发笑。
• [Chuckles] You thought he was being poisoned by hemlock? 你觉得他中的会是芹叶钩吻毒吗？