Se compran colchones

Se compran colchones is an audio recording that is frequently played by itinerant vendors in Mexico to solicit the purchase of used household items including mattresses, refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, and microwaves. The pickup trucks playing the recording are so numerous and ubiquitous that the recording has entered the popular culture of Mexico City.

Lyrics

Se compran,
colchones,
tambores,
refrigeradores,
estufas,
lavadoras,
microondas,
¿o algo de fierro viejo que vendan?

History

It was originally recorded on a cassette in 2005 by a young woman named María del Mar Terrón at the request of her father, Marco Antonio, who is a ferroviejero, which is an itinerant purchaser of used metal items. The recording is used by almost all the ferroviejeros in Mexico City, and also in other Mexican states.

María is popularly nicknamed Niña de fierro, and del fierro viejo.

The recording was registered, but its authors do not benefit financially from its use by ferroviejeros. Mr. Terrón declared that "using that recording feels good because in some way you are doing your part to keep those people working."

In popular culture

The recording has been remixed to create songs and telephone ringtones, and has been used in series and films set in Mexico City, such as Cindy la Regia, Chingolandia and Emilia Pérez. On March 8, 2021, the feminist collective Fieras Fierras published a remix in which they rewrote the lyrics of Se compra colchones to "They are looking for each other, people, allies, warriors, (...) against the old iron that abounds".

See also

• Junk man
• Karung guni
• rag-and-bone man
• Waste collector
• Zabbaleen