No Hay Patria Sin Libertad

Los Compañeros de las FARC-EP

Hello comrades / followers / friends, welcome back! If this is your first time to my page, this post is part of an ongoing segment featuring a song from the Latin American revolutionary and folk music traditions. If you’d like to check out some past episodes, click here.

Today we’re going to move from Nicaragua south to Colombia, and listen to a song made by guerrillas from the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejercito Popular (FARC-EP). A few years ago the FARC released a few albums for free on their website, but they have since been taken down (at least the last time I checked). Good thing I downloaded them beforehand! If you look around though, you can still find the albums through sites like Taringa.

Disclaimer: My posting and translation of this song is for strictly academic purposes, and should in no way be construed by any US government agency as support for the FARC-EP, material or immaterial.

While this isn’t the place to discuss the politics or strategy of the FARC, we definitely can discuss the factors that influence their music. While their songs as an entirety seem to feature a wide array of genres and styles (cumbia, salsa, corrido, son), the majority are heavily influenced by traditional vallenato sounds. Vallenato, for those of you that aren’t aware, is a form of Colombian folk music recognizable by its strong emphasis on the accordion. While the genre’s origins are from the northeastern region of the country, the FARC’s stronghold is in the south. Nevertheless, it is one of the most popular genres in the country, putting forward such artists as Carlos Vives and Jorge Celedon.

In addition to the influence of vallenato, there is also a notable influence of carranga, a form of campesino music native to central Colombia’s Andean region. Carranga is a more string-heavy genre than vallenato, featuring extensive use of the requinto guitar (popularly recognized in the US as the main instrument of bachata). It tends to feature themes and motifs relating to the struggle of campesinos, and has thus had less mainstream exposure. If you want to hear this genre for yourself (which I suggest), check out the music of Jorge Velosa.

There are a few musicians within the guerrilla who are named and promoted on such a basis, including Julian Conrado (pictured), Lucas Iguaran, and Horizonte Fariano. Horizonte Fariano is notable here for using a more carranga-influenced sound than the others. The rest of the organization’s musicians, such as the artists of this song, remain anonymous and operate under the generic name Los Companeros de las FARC-EP.

This particular song raises the banner of Simon Bolivar, a common theme in left-wing music of Colombia and Venezuela, and denounces exploitation of the people of Latin America. There will be a couple links within the English lyrics leading to Wikipedia articles for context and clarification.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the song. I transliterated and translated the lyrics to the best of my ability, but there are a couple words that I have to confess to guessing since there aren’t any lyrics available online. Feedback, questions and suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Thanks!

SPANISH:

Guerrilleras y guerrilleros del bloque central,
Adán Izquierdo está presente!

No hay patria sin libertad
nos dice el Libertador,
la venía ante el opresor
humilla a la humanidad

No hay vida sin dignidad,
nos dice con ardentía
y a su ejemplo, nuestra guía,
hermanos y guerrilleros
que luchamos con esmero
contra cualquier tiranía

[CORO]
Y no hay patria, y no hay patria,
no hay patria sin libertad
La justicia es el nombre
de la verdadera paz!

La vida no vale nada
si no es como un manantial
que se vierte natural
para hacer la patria amada

Por la América explotada
por los pobres de la tierra,
en el llano y en la sierra
y en las variadas urbanas
somos almas con cananas
contra el déspoto y la guerra

CORO

La libertad y la paz
es la invencible bandera
y alumbra la tierra entera
desde el sol de Sumapaz

Sin justicia no habrá paz,
como lo enseña Manuel
No hay paz que el imperio cruel
existe nuestra opresion
con Bolívar es la unión
en la lucha sin cuartel

CORO

ENGLISH:

Guerrillas of the Central Bloc,
Adan Izquierdo is present!

There is no homeland without freedom,
that’s what the Liberator says
Confronting the oppressor
humbles humanity

There is no life without dignity,
he says with fire in his heart
And his example is our guide,
brothers and guerrillas
We fight with dedication
Against any tyranny

[CHORUS]
And there’s no homeland, there’s no homeland,
there is no homeland without freedom
Justice is the name
of the true peace!

Life is not worth anything
if it is not like a fountain,
that flows naturally
to create our beloved country

For our exploited America,
for the poor of the Earth,
in the plains and in the mountains
and in the various cities
We are souls with holsters
fighting against despotism and war

CHORUS

Freedom and peace
are the invincible flag
which illuminates all the land
from the sun of Sumapaz

Without justice there won’t be peace,
like Manuel teaches us
There is no peace because the cruel empire
creates our oppression
With Bolivar we have unity
in the relentless struggle

CHORUS

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