La golondrina

"La golondrina"
Song
LanguageSpanish
English title"The Swallow"
Written1862
GenreFolk
SongwriterNarciso Serradell Sevilla

"La golondrina" (English: "The Swallow") is a song written in 1862 by Mexican physician Narciso Serradell Sevilla (1843–1910), who at the time was exiled to France due to the French intervention in Mexico.

The lyrics come from a poem written in Arabic by the last Abencerrages king of Granada, Aben Humeya, in a translation by Niceto de Zamacois, which Serradell found in a magazine used as packing material. They use the image of a migrating swallow to evoke sentiments of longing for the homeland. It became the signature song of the exiled and expatriate Mexicans.