Introduction Reggaeton, which has its roots in Puerto Rico but subsequently became infused with Latin rap and hip-hop, is cleaning up in the international pop music charts. A look at the Global Top 50 on Spotify, this first week in April, reveals no fewer than eleven reggaeton tracks. Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Nicky Jam, Maluma, Ozuna… All names relatively unfamiliar to older generations, granted, but even veterans of the industry, like Shakira and J. Lo, have had their hands in this honeypot as of late. When I walked the Camino Primitivo, last summer, I was amazed to hear the similarities between the traditional music of Galicia, in the northwest of Spain, and the traditional Irish music on which I was raised. It got me to thinking: what might happen if styles from more southernly parts of the country, like flamenco, or from Latin America, like salsa, or even reggaeton, were combined with Celtic ones? Others were already way ahead of me. Salsa Celtica, for example, a group of jazz and folk musicians based in Edinburgh, has been experimenting with fiddles, bagpipes, congas and the rhythms of Cuban Salsa for over twenty-five years now. Baile an Salsa is a collective doing much the same thing out of Galway. Zooming out from the British Isles, for a moment, you can find comparable projects the world over. Africando, for instance, where Latin meets Wolof and Yoruba. All is well, then, on the folk music front. Not so, however, on the folk song side of things. Which is to say, amidst the ascendancy of reggaeton, and for all the prenominate confluence of musical genres, the folk song styles of Spain and Latin America appear to have been left behind. Rarely if ever will you find a hispanophone folk song, as against the music accompanying it, translated into another language, or even adapted to one. And I am here to tell you that this is a real shame. Firstly, because the songs themselves are wonderful, expressive, poignant. And secondly, because they differ so markedly from our own, and may thus have something worthwhile to teach us about the potential of folk song in general. * * * Original Porteño Spanish Zamba de los Humildes Zambita para que canten Los humildes de mis pagos Si hay que esperar la esperanza Mas vale esperar cantando Si hay que esperar la esperanza Mas vale esperar cantando Nacida de los boliches Donde el grito alza su llama Su canción de largas lunas Sabe la siembra y el agua Su canción de largas lunas Sabe la siembra y el agua Como un canto de la tierra Hay que cantar esta zamba Hermana de los humildes Sembradores de esperanza Alzada raíz de sangre Del fondo de la guitarra Mi pueblo la canta siempre Como si fuera una ausencia La cara hundida en el pecho Hasta mirarse la pena La cara hundida en el pecho Hasta mirarse la pena Un corazón de camino Desde su canto regresa A despertar el destino Que el pueblo en su pecho lleva A despertar el destino Que el pueblo en su pecho lleva Como un canto de la tierra Hay que cantar esta zamba Hermana de los humildes Sembradores de esperanza Alzada raíz de sangre Del fondo de la guitarra * * * * * * Zamba de Balderrama A orillitas del canal Cuando llega la mañana Sale cantando la noche Desde lo de Balderrama Sale cantando la noche Desde lo de Balderrama Adentro puro temblor El bombo con la baguala Y se alborota quemando Dele chispear la guitarra Y se alborota quemando Dele chispear la guitarra Lucero solito Brote del alba Donde iremos a parar Si se apaga Balderrama Donde iremos a parar Si se apaga Balderrama Si uno se pone a cantar Un cochero lo acompaña Y en cada vaso de vino Tiembla el lucero del alba Y en cada vaso de vino Tiembla el lucero del alba Zamba del amanecer Arrullo de Balderrama Canta por la medianoche Llora por la madrugada Canta por la medianoche Llora por la madrugada Lucero solito Brote del alba Donde iremos a parar Si se apaga Balderrama Donde iremos a parar Si se apaga Balderrama * * * * * * English Translation Zamba for the Humble A zamba for them to sing The humble of my homelands If we have to wait for hope Better to wait while singing If we have to wait for hope Better to wait while singing Daughter of the boliche bar Where fiery cries ignite the air Their song of the long moon It knows the soil and water Their song of the long moon It knows the soil and water Like a song belonging to the earth We must sing this zamba Anthem of the humble Sowers of the seeds of hope Bloodied root that rises up From the depths of the guitarra My people are always singing it As if it were a kind of need Their faces buried in their chests So deep they see their own sorrow Their faces buried in their chests So deep they see their own sorrow A lost and a wandering soul Hearing this song returns home So as to rouse the destiny That the people carry in their hearts So as to rouse the destiny That the people carry in their hearts Like a song belonging to the earth We must sing this zamba Anthem of the humble Sowers of the seeds of hope Bloodied root that rises up From the depths of the guitarra * * * Zamba Balderrama Along the banks of the canal As the morning light draws near Night rises and departs singing Through the doors of the Balderrama Night rises and departs singing Through the doors of the Balderrama Inside the walls tremble and shake Beats of bombos and bagualas And in the air fiery excitement As sparks fly from the guitarra And in the air fiery excitement As sparks fly from the guitarra Solitary starlight Shining bud of dawn What in the world will become of us If they shut the Balderrama What in the world will become of us If they shut the Balderrama If someone breaks out into song A coachman grabs his guitarra And in every glassful of red wine The morning star is seen twinkling And in every glassful of red wine The morning star is seen twinkling Zamba of the rising sun Soothing song of Balderrama Singing our hearts out at midnight Crying our eyes out at break of day Singing our hearts out at midnight Crying our eyes out at break of day Solitary starlight Shining bud of dawn What in the world will become of us If they shut the Balderrama What in the world will become of us If they shut the Balderrama * * * Google Drive Link to Rendition To listen to my rendition of the translations, click here. Select the audio file (.m4a) you want to listen to and it will play automatically. If for whatever reason the playback fails, you can always download the file and play it using your preferred media player.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |