The Radical Child

The Ballad of Señor Don Gato by Josiah C. Shockency
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Estaba el señor Don Gato" is a traditional Spanish song with vague origins, with some saying it dates back to the fifteenth century. Margaret Marks would loosely translate it into English, with this version popularized in a third-grade music textbook published in 1964, although the melody would be that from a completely different Spanish song. I discovered on DeviantArt that one of my friends there named Josiah C. Shockency composed art for and wrote new lyrics for the original Spanish tune, publishing it in August 2021 as The Ballad of Señor Don Gato.

The story opens with the eponymous Don Gato sitting upon a rooftop, receiving a letter from his love interest asking if he wants to marry. Blinded by affection, Don Gato falls to the street, breaking his bones and being pronounced dead. During his funeral procession, the odor of sardines revives him, with the concluding indicator that cats have seven lives. This at first threw me off since I'm very well familiar with the mythos that felines have nine lives, although a cute illustration notes that some cultures like most Hispanophone nations (i.e. Spain, Mexico), Portugal, Brazil, Greece, and even Germany have that number at seven, so I definitely learned something new as a result of reading the book.

I also looked up the original popular English translation online and listened to it with its accompanying music, discovering its pacing was far slower, and the lyrics somewhat more verbose, perhaps a little too advanced for younger audiences. In contrast, the original Spanish tune is far faster, catchier, and more upbeat despite some of its lyrics' morbidness, with Shockency's localization, using mostly simpler words, following the notes well, interlacing his text with some Spanish. Although he defines the Spanish words after the main text, I think that truly integrating the lyrics into their respective illustrations, with side (or above/below) notes in the pictures for the untranslated words, would have been better.

I further believe that special punctuation marks to reflect the rhythm of the music, such as ellipses after words with longer notes and dashes after those that the "MA-RA-MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!" refrains follow, would help those reading with any musical accompaniment unversed in following song lyrics not get caught off-guard. Regardless, I enjoyed the story and especially its illustrations, which were adorable and depicted the narrative well, with the concept art following the Spanish word translation glossary being a nice addition, and I was more than happy to support the author/artist with my purchase.

View all my reviews