“Patuleco” (written here with a “k” for visual effect, I guess) is a colloquial Spanish word to call people with some kind of deformity in their legs that makes them walk like a duck (Duck in Spanish = Pato) and need to use crutches because of this. The song is an invitation for “patulekos” to drop their crutches, dance and enjoy the music without worrying about anything else. The invitation also goes to the cross-eyed, pug-nosed, lame, one-eared and one-eyed. It was 1977, a time when those things could be publicly talked about with hardly anybody taking offense.

Recorded in Medellín, Colombia, by Fruko Y Sus Tesos with Álvaro José “Joe” Arroyo on lead vocals for the 1977 album “El Patillero” (“The Watermelon Vendor”). Original Colombian pressing.

Numark TTXUSB turntable – Nagaoka MP-500 phono cartridge – ART DJPRE II phono stage preamp – Vinyl record vinilo LP