La Zamarra de Gustavo

D. FRANCISCO AYALA (1906-2009), el último gran testigo

Para saber más: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Ayala (actualizado hoy mismo)

Y es que este cachondo de la guitarra me enloquece… Pero además me enternece: http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=46&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=567477&idseccio_PK=1013

Foto: http://www.buenafuente.lasexta.com/galerias/ver/joan_eloi_vila/741

Pablo Guerrero is one of the most tender and sweeter. Born in Esparragosa de Lares, a village of Badajoz, Extremadura, in 1946. In 1969 comes to Madrid for singing; his first songs are influenced by Extremadura's traditional songs, but soon he'll sing also songs with Dylan, Paco Ibáñez, Georges Brassens, Moustaki and Jose Afonso influences. His great song is "A cántaros" ("It's pouring"), that became in a song of solidarity. Pablo's poetry is one of the most beautiful: talking about friendship, solidarity, humanity, brotherhood, his land and, of course, love. He also recorded songs with Africans influence, and today, without the previous power of voice, his songs are more literary than musicals. Some of his best LPs are A cántaros (Pours) and Porque amamos el fuego (Because we love fire).

This is one of his first songs, and talks about the peasant from Extremadura

Son hombres que se mueren sin haber visto la mar

Los siglos de silencio, que tanto pesan,
te duelen más, amigo, que la tristeza,             
que la tristeza, que la tristeza
de ver que es  para el amo lo que tú siembras.

Por ahí van, por ahí van,
son hombres que se mueren sin haber visto la mar.

Por ahí van, por ahí van,
son hombres que se mueren sin haber visto la mar.

They are men that die without ever seen the sea

The centuries of silence,/ that weigh on so,/ hurt you more, my friend,/ than sadness,/ than sadness, than the sadness/ of seeing is for the owner that you seed.// There they go, there they go,/ they are men that die without ever seen the sea.// They worked for a hundred years, what did they get?/ the shadow of an oak when they died,/ when they died, when they died/ in the end the soil  covered all their dreams.// There they go… // The peasant's voice, that was hidden,/ between hills and valleys,/ field and fatigue,/ field and fatigue, field and fatigue/ they were voices without an echoe along all their life.// There they go… // But your voice it's not forever asleeping,/ you can sing now, cry louder,/ cry louder, cry louder,/ don't ask for please what they owe you.

Pablo Guerrero

Rosalía de Castro (Santiago de Compostela, 1837-Padrón, 1885), poet and novelist, was the great renewer of the Galician literature. Indispensable author in the Spanish romantic literary movement, Rosalía wrote as in Spanish (Castillian) as in Galician; existencialist themes, but also compromised poems with the Galicians migraters. Most of her poems were influenced by the Galician folk-songs; but, in some cases, Galician folklore feed of her poems.

This is the case of this song: “Negra sombra”, with music of Juan Montes Capón

Negra sombra

Cando penso que te fuches,
negra sombra que m’asombras,
o pe d’os teus cabezales
tornas facéndome mofa.
Cando maximo qu’es ida
n’o mesmo sol te m’amostras
y eres á estrela que brila
y eres ó vento que zoa.
Si cantan, es ti que cantas.
Si choran, es ti que choras.
y es ó marmurio d’o rio
y es á noite y es á aurora.
En todo estás e ti es todo,
pra min y en min mesma moras,
nin me deixarás nunca
sombra que sempre m’asombras.

Black shadow

When I realize that you're gone,/ black shadow that amazes me,/ at the feet of your pillows/ you back taunting me.// When I consider you're gone,/ in the same sun you are shown to me/ and you are the star that shine,/ and you are the wind that hoots.// If anybody sings, it's you who is singing,/ if anybody cries, it's you who is crying,/ and it's the murmur of the river/ and it's the night and it's the dawn.// You are in all and you are all/ for me and inside myself you dwell/ neither you ever leave me/ shadow that always amazes me.

Many Galician singers and groups made their own version: Amancio Prada, Milladoiro, Luz Casal… And Bibiano, which 1980’s album version scandalize to the purists:

The Nova Canción Galega (New Galician Song) was a literary-musical movement of young people who were against Franco's regime and wanted to rescue culture and language of Galicia. In this movement are the collective Voces Ceibes and the Venezuelan Xulio Formoso. In the 70's decade, the movement get folklorist attitude, instead many of them rejected it in the beginnings.

Voces Ceibes (Free Voices) was the first collective of the Nova Canción Galega. Their objectives were make an opposition to Franco's regime with music and poems of the great all of times Galician poets and make a vindication of Galician culture, language and literature. But they rejected to use Galician folklore due to the illegitimacy use that Franco's regime make of it as an instrument of cohesion of all the Spanish lands.  Despite of this, in the 70's, they adopted finally the Galician folk-music for making art and vindications.

Es una foto inédita (y además histórica de Mercedes Sosa). Se tomó en septiembre de 1973, aunque no puedo precisar la fecha exacta. Era la primera vez que Mercedes venía a España y esta creo que fue la primera foto que se le tomó aquí, exactamente en el aeropuerto de Barajas, donde habíamos ido a recibirlo alguna gente de la casa de discos, que le llevaron el ramo de flores, y yo, que entonces estaba en Radio Popular FM. Lo histórico de la foto no está, sin embargo, en eso, sino en que precisamente en el momento de sacarla yo le estaba contando el asesinato de Víctor Jara, que ella no conocía aún, porque había estado viajando y no había tenido ocasión, y que conoció por mi boca, para gran consternación mía. En la foto se observa su cara de preocupación por lo que le estoy contando. Si se le hubiera disparado inmediatamente un nuevo fotograma, se hubiera comprobado que se echó a llorar desconsoladamente.

Texto y foto, cortesía de Antonio Gómez