Soledad Bravo | Violín de Becho | Soledad, Vol. 4 | 1972
He aquí una rola lindísima escrita por el gran cantautor uruguayo, Alfredo Zitarrosa.
Posts tagged musica folklorica
El gran Alí Primera, tras los años.
El Lago, el Puerto, y la Gente | Alí Primera y José Montecano | Por si no lo Sabía | 1985
“Pero yo soñé que un día el corazón del zuliano latía por salvar el lago, es decir su propia vida, porque sin lago no hay puerto, ni gente de Maracaibo.”
“But I dreamt that one day the heart of the Zulian would beat for the salvation of the lake, that is to say, the salvation of his own life, because without the lake there can be no port, nor could there be a people of Maracaibo.”
Venezuelan songwriter, singer, and musician Alí Primera wrote this song, whose title translates to The Lake, the Port, and the People, shortly before his tragic death by car accident in 1985. He was unable to finish recording it, so you’ll notice that the singer changes about 1/3 of the way through the song: in the beginning you will hear Alí, while the latter part is sung by his half-brother, José Montecano.
The song talks about Lake Maracaibo, which is a bay in the northwest of Venezuela. It is the epicenter of the country’s crude oil reserves, and as such is threatened by environmental degradation. Alí makes an appeal to the people of Zulia—the state with dominion over the bay—to save Lake Maracaibo, because without it there is no port, nor could there be a “people of Maracaibo.” I believe that this is classified as a gaita zuliana, but I could very well be wrong.
Here are the lyrics, with a couple links of interest. Enjoy!
El lago de Maracaibo tiene una historia bonita,
escrita por los cañones de la escuadra de Padilla,
y cuando lavó la cara virginal de la Chinita,
hizo de aguas corazón y una canción cristalina,
hizo de aguas corazón y una canción cristalina
Y esa canción olvidaron, con el tiempo encementaron
sus arenas benditas, pero aunque no vuelva al charco
el lago de Maracaibo tiene una historia bonita,
el lago de Maracaibo tiene una historia bonita
La gente de Maracaibo tiene una historia bonita
tal vez no sea huevo chimbo pero sin embargo es dulce
en la canción de Cheboche que cuando canta de noche
sin importarle que llueva o si la voz no le alcanza
si se muere la esperanza lucha y se inventa una nueva,
si se muere la esperanza lucha y se inventa una nueva
Pero yo soñé que un día el corazón del zuliano
latía por salvar el lago es decir su propia vida
porque sin lago no hay puerto ni gente de Maracaibo
porque sin lago no hay puerto ni gente de Maracaibo
El puerto de Maracaibo tiene una historia bonita,
y abrazada con el lago resiste y la deja escrita,
y el gaitero la recoge para salvarle la vida,
y aunque no le dé su amor el maracaibero de hoy
prefiere lanzarla al sol pa’ que se queme enterita
Pero yo espero que un día el pueblo de Maracaibo
se una por salvar el lago en nombre de la Chinita
porque sin lago no hay puerto ni gente de Maracaibo
porque sin lago no hay puerto ni gente de Maracaibo
Contemporary Chilean folk musician, Pascuala Ilabaca.
I need to meet a woman who plays accordion. Ay dios mio. *swoon*
CANCION: La Balada de Ho Chi Minh
INTERPRETACION: Rolando Alarcón
ALBUM: El Mundo Folklórico de Rolando Alarcón [1969]
GENERO: Nueva Canción Chilena
Feliz cumpleaños, Ho Chi Minh! Here’s the original English-language version of the song, if you’d prefer, written by Ewan MacColl, or a Vietnamese version here.
Más allá, donde el sol levanta,
en la tierra y en el golfín,
vive el padre del pueblo de Indochina,
un pueblo que lucha junto a Ho Chi Minh.
Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh,
Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh.
En Saigón la montaña ruge
y los valles en silencio están
porque el joven y el viejo campesino
luchan por la libertad para su Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh era un marinero
que una tarde regresó feliz
y encontró que su pueblo estaba triste;
triste no era la esperanza de Ho Chi Minh.
Ho Chi Minh se fue a la montaña
y su pueblo también marchó
y soñaba que su tierra era libre,
contra el enemigo y contra el invasor.
Y creció como un mar gigante
cien y miles junto a Ho Chi Minh.
Florecían soldados para el pueblo,
para dar la libertad, para el Viet Minh.
“Libertad” gritan las banderas
y en la selva se oye una canción:
es el pueblo que marcha a la victoria,
paz y libertad serán para el Vietnam.
Con las FARC, con las FARC, la guaneña se fue a pelear, trepando la cordillera en la ofensiva popular!
One of the best songs from the Colombian guerrilla, La Guaneña, based on a traditional Colombian folk song of the same name, tells the story of a girl who joins the FARC-EP and travels across the cordillera in western Colombia to fight in the eventual, final insurrection in Bogotá.
The song originates from the town of Noriño, located in the southwest near the Ecuadorean border (explaining the heavy use of indigenous instrumentation).
Enjoy!
Antes de dormirme, quiero presentarles una canción hermosisima de la revolución salvadoreña. Se llama Canto a la Patria Revolucionaria, y aquí la toca/canta la banda efemelenista Yolocamba i Ta.
Siglos de vidas perdidas, las manos rotas, dolor.
Las esperanzas vencidas, asesinado el amor.
Gritos de un pueblo profeta, que rompen sueño y fronteras,
van cayendo las caretas, ya han ocultado a las fieras.
La sangre de los valientes, nuestra tierra inundará.
Sus rostros siempre presentes, nuestro pueblo llorará.
Llorará, llorará, con su cuerpo desgarrado, llorará.
Atahualpa Yupanqui interpreta la zamba de su autoría “Tierra querida” para el documental “Argentinísima” filmado en 1971 y dirigido por Fernando Ayala y Héctor Olivera.
Chilean musician Angel Parra sings No te Alejes (Don’t Distance Yourself) from his 1973 album Cuando Amanece el Dia. This song, which comes out of the nueva cancion tradition, features a heavy use of the quena flute and acoustic guitar, along with very characteristically emotive singing from Angel Parra. Lyrics below.
No te alejes más porque si te vas
seguro la noche te ocultará.
Sigo como soy, no te podré hallar
y sin tu presencia no puedo cantar.
Ya te hei dicho que te quiero,
que te espero y que me muero
¿dónde está tu corazón?
Y si al despertar pudiera encontrar
un sí de tu boca grande como el mar,
yo pongo la barca también el remar
tú verás lo tuyo sólo en altamar.
TRANSLATION:
Don’t distance yourself because if you go
the night will surely hide you from me.
I will remain as I am, unable to find you
and without your presence I cannot sing.
I have already told you that I love you,
that I wait for you and that I am dying
where is your heart?
And if upon awakening I could encounter
a yes from your mouth, as great as the sea,
I will provide the boat, also the row
You will see what is yours only in high seas.
Juana y José
Cecilia Todd
CECILIA TODD - JUANA Y JOSÉ [VENEZUELA, 1974]
“Junto conmigo vivirás en una casa con un balcón
y allí la vida pasarás llena de ilusión.”
This is a really beautiful song written by Cruz Felipe Iriarte (second picture) and performed here by Venezuelan folk singer Cecilia Todd. This is considered a merengue venezolano, which, despite sharing a name with the more popular merengue from the Dominican Republic, is a separate and unique style. More on that later.
Cruz Felipe Iriarte is a lauded cultural figure from La Guaira, the capital of Venezuela’s north-central state of Vargas. He was born in 1922 and is still alive and participating in the cultural life of the country. His influence on Venezuelan music has resulted in an orchestra and a cultural center carrying his namesake, along with regular praise from musicians such as Todd.
Lyrically, we’re listening to a song about an abusive relationship between Juana and Jose. Jose leaves every morning without so much as an acknowledgement and comes home at night to argue with and hit Juana. Iriarte is asking her to forget her worries and calm down, because one day she will live with him in a beautiful house with a balcony. As in the last song I posted, this was written from a male point of view and is sung in the same way, which may be confusing for those not used to it.
Some things to listen for: the mandolina, a Venezuelan mandolin that opens the song and plays the melody; the cuatro, a 4-string chordophone native to Venezuela which has a 
relatively high-pitched, clunky sound; a bass guitar which enters about nine seconds in; and I believe what is the tambor venezolano, a membranophone which has a soft, airy quality. Also listen for the strange rhythm of this song, which some identify as a 5/8 and others as an offshoot of a 2/4, but which will regardless sound very unusual, to say the least. Those of us used to the typical 4/4 of western music will have a difficult time finding the rhythm and pattern.
Venezuelan merengue was, at one point, a favored dance genre in the capital of Caracas, though it has faded significantly since its peak in popularity in the first half of the 20th century. Still, musicians like Iriarte and Todd have played a significant role in keeping the style alive through the years. It is less common as a dance style than as a folk music style now. I’m not sure exactly why it shares a name with merengue from the Dominican Republic, but you will notice instantly the complete lack of similarities. Dominican merengue utilizes a fast-paced 2/4 beat and features a heavy use of brass and percussion, in stark contrast to the Venezuelan variety’s 5/8 meter and emphasis on stringed instruments and chordophones. Poetic lyrics are also far more important in Venezuelan merengue, while in the Dominican style lyrical content generally takes a backseat to danceability.
Anyway I hope you like it! This is one of my favorite songs in Venezuela’s folk repertoire, and Todd’s voice makes this a very aesthetically pleasing interpretation. Below are the lyrics in the original Spanish and translated into English.
SPANISH:
Me estaba contando Juana que su marido José
la deja por la mañana sin papelón ni café;
y de noche cuando llega, me contaba con dolor,
que la regaña y le pega sin tener razón.
Cálmate, Juana, y no llores más;
de aquí a mañana se te olvidarán
todas tus tristezas y tu preocupación.
Junto conmigo vivirás en una casa con un balcón
y allí la vida pasarás llena de ilusión.
ENGLISH:
Juana was telling me that her husband Jose
leaves her in the morning without papelón or coffee;
and at night, when he returns, she told me with tears,
that he yells at her and beats her for no reason.
Calm down, Juana, cry no more;
between here to tomorrow you will have forgotten
all your sadness and worrying.
Along with me you will live in a house with a balcony
and there you will live your life filled with dreams.
Painting is a section of Luciana at the Balcony by Fabian Perez. Purchase a replica here.
Cecilia Todd, one of Venezuela’s most recognized folklorists. She sings and plays the cuatro, a 4-stringed chordophone ubiquitous in Venezuela. Listen to her on my site here or watch this video, the first part of a documentary on Venezuela’s merengue tradition, of her performing El Catre in 1979 with composer and guitarrist Antonio Lauro.
I decided to do a sing along for you guys again, let’s see how it turns out! It’s a little different today, since I decided to do an overview of the song first so you can appreciate it more.
For today’s presentation, we’re going to be looking at the song Chacarera del Chilalo by La Juntada, which is Duo Coplanacu along with Peteco Carabajal and Raly Barrionuevo. The chacarera is a genre from northern Argentina with an interesting rhythm and cool sound that generally has pastoral lyrical themes.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments! I’d appreciate feedback since this is sort of a new thing I’m trying out and I’m not sure if it is an effective way of presenting the topic.
LYRICS:
El monte qué lindo está!
Cómo hay miel de palo!
Bajo los garabatos
lechiguana y chilalo.
Aromas de tusca en flor
perfuman la huella
y el mistol coloreando
está de adorno en la tierra.
Las tunas y el piquillín
ya están madurando
y por sobre los cercos
están las dockas colgando.
Ofreciendo está el cardón
su flor blanca y pura
mientras que la ulúa
ya se abre de madura.
Por entre el viscacheral
y pampa takellus
florecen quishcaloros
tuscas y sisaquellus.
El sachayoj se hace oír
cuidando los montes
despiertan salamancas
en medio los locontis.
Se entreveran los tum-tum
de bombos legüeros
de hachas, de malambos
y de criollos morteros.
El monte que lindo está!
Cómo hay miel de palo!
Bajo los garabatos
lechiguana y chilalo.
Morena Esperanza
Illapu
ILLAPU - MORENA ESPERANZA [CHILE, 1998]
“Cadenciosa la esperanza se metió entre las polleras
y le fue afirmando el paso que bailaba la morena.”
I have generally strayed away from featuring songs that are already really popular, but I love this one so much that I couldn’t resist. This is my favorite group ILLAPU playing one of their greatest hits, Morena Esperanza. It was written by northern Chilean poet 
Nelly Lemus and put to music by Roberto Marquez, lead singer of the group. Musically we’ll notice an acoustic guitar, an electric bass, a drum kit, a pair of conga drums, a quena, a charango, and right at the end, a soprano saxophone. The quena is the flute that comes in between verses and the charango is the higher-pitched strummed instrument that can be heard in the background. There’s also a percussion instrument that I can’t seem to place. To get a better idea of the instruments used in the song, click here to watch a live performance.
The song refers to the Candombe dance/song of Uruguay, which has its origins in African Bantu traditions and is practiced in many parts of South America, though this song is not itself considered Candombe. Like most of Illapu’s music it evades modern genre classifications, but can broadly be considered Andean despite its heavy use of Western instrumentation.
Anyway here are the lyrics for you all, provided with an English translation below. I didn’t translate the word moreno/a since there isn’t really a good one-word contextual translation, but for those of you who don’t speak Spanish it basically means a dark-skinned person, sometimes referring to people specifically of African origin.
SPANISH:
Cadenciosa la esperanza se metió entre las polleras
y le fue afirmando el paso que bailaba la morena
Al moreno que soñaba revertir la vida entera
la esperanza le dio un beso mintiendo la primavera
Los morenos en festejo candombeando la esperanza
meneando pierna y caderas ardían como candela
Suspendidas de la luna van y vienen las morenas
y sus pechos agitados alumbrando como estrellas
Por la tierra va creciendo la esperanza de los buenos
y bailando están los dioses bandera de los morenos.
ENGLISH:
Rhythmically, hope slipped through the skirts
and called out the steps that the morena was to dance
And the moreno, who wished to reverse his lifetime,
was kissed by hope, thereby cheating the spring
The morenos in celebration, dancing the Candombe for hope
shaking their legs and hips, they burn like a wildfire
Suspended under the moon, the morenas come and go
with their restless breasts shining like stars
Throughout the earth the hope of the good ones is growing
and the gods are dancing under the flag of the morenos.
