Ever since antiquity, music transcription has been the intrinsic way of visual representation of sound, sometimes in detail and sometimes in the form of a guide. Throughout time, the visual capture of music has been the only way to store and preserve it over time, but also the exclusive means of reproducing it. In any case, visual transfer should be considered as an auxiliary tool, since oral dissemination and storage in the memory of artists have been the most timeless techniques for the diffusion of music through time and space. During Europe's so-called "classical" musical period, with its most powerful centers of production, such as today's Austria, Germany, France and Italy, and especially in its path towards Romanticism, music transcription, that is, the musical score, was considered by some composers as the very embodiment of their work.

Understandably, in the modern capitalist world, music transcription, as the primary tool for the substantialization of music, brought under its purview repertoires that were not connected, were not disseminated, and did not function on the basis of their transcription. This offered to the music product sales centers an additional tool to expand their action network: non-scholar musics acquired a convenient way of circulating them, enhancing their popularity, even in places very far from those of their original creation. At the end of the 19th century, however, the phenomenon of sound recording and reproduction rearranged relationships and disrupted the status quo of publishing houses, claiming a share of the market, offering a product that was extremely complete and immediate. The publishing houses tried to react with legal measures, but it became impossible to stop the dynamics of the new phenomenon: the prevalence of commercial discography was now a fact, for most of the 20th century.

As far as non-scholar music is concerned, commercial printed musical scores were publications of the musical texts of songs or instrumental pieces (for the publishing activity in Greece see Lerch-Kalavrytinos, 2003: 4-5). For the needs of musical scores, the songs were arranged mainly (but not only) for piano or for piano and voice, generally without complex performance requirements. Multi-instrumental or technically demanding orchestrations were systematically avoided. The lyrics were printed below the notes of the melodic development of the singing parts and, sometimes, their translations into other languages. For the most part, the musical scores were two or four pages long, and came with a themed front and back cover.

This musical score contains the exotic-themed song "Mia Mexikana” (A Mexican girl), with music and lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and Michel Carr. The Greek lyrics were written by Pol Menestrel. It comes from the 1939 film “South of no border”.

The song falls within the scope of exoticism, under the ethnocentric lens of which the Western world came into contact, among others, with othernesses such as the peoples of Latin America and their musical language. The meaning of exoticism concerns, on the one hand, the characteristics of that which is outside the sphere of identity and, on the other hand, the attraction exerted by that which has such characteristics. The widespread acceptance of the phenomenon is obvious: the multidimensional linguistic, musical and visual wealth accumulated around and within exoticism created a common stock of knowledge that perpetually feeds the collective and individual imaginary. The locations represented in exoticism, that is, the East, Latin America, Spain, Hawaii, are par excellence imaginary, disconnected from the real world. They are revealed like a theatrical stage, with alternating scenes, where fantasies are dramatized, overwhelm the senses and release intense emotions, offering the "visitor" an ideal experience, outside the limitations of the conventional world.

The color cover features the Mexican girl described in the song and a group of men wearing hats reminiscent of the Mexican sombrero or cowboy hat. The creators, the publishers and the designation "Tragoudaki serenata" (Serenade song), as well as the sale price (18 drachmas), are also mentioned.

This is a musical score with a system of three staffs (two for piano and one for voice). In addition to the Greek lyrics, the English ones are also included. The following is written at the bottom of the first page of the musical text: “Copyright 1939 by The Peter Maurice Music Co Ltd, London, Copyright 1940 by Edts. Musicales M. Gaetano, Athènes – Grèce, For sale only in Greece by arrangement with The Peter Maurice Music Co Ltd. London W.C.2”, “Printed in Greece. Tous droits d'exécution – reproduction – traduction – radiodiffusion – arrang^t réservés Pr. Ts. Pays” and the code “Μ. 1785 Γ”.

In its original version, the song "South of the border (Down Mexico way)" was recorded by the star of the movie Gene Autry on September 11, 1939, in Chicago (Conqueror WC2696 – 9305 and Vocalion 05122). The number of re-issues of the record reflects its commercial success (see here).

In Greek discography, it was recorded under the title "Mia Mexikana" (A Mexican girl) by Danai Stratigopoulou and Panos Visvardis (His Master’s Voice OGA1083 – JOG22/AO2652), as well as by Alkis Pagonis (Odeon GO3590 – GA7311) in 1940, in Athens.

Research and text: George Evangelou and Nikos Ordoulidis