Bilingual poems about candombe, the true essence of Uruguayan music
Candombe blues (Montevideo, 24 de Agosto, 2012)
Hay una melancolía
salvaje en el candombe
un trance que deshace
lo que pasó
todo es ahora
todo es tambor
Lo sagrado (Montevideo, 24 de Agosto, 2012)
Las manos del Lobo
en el tambor
La mort de mon silence (Montevideo, August 25th, 2012)
I hear the drum
again
and from the rhythm
a melodic bless
i can taste it
inside
I unite
with the past
of the land
my open windows bring
the music waft
from the hearts
and the hands
and the flesh
of the drum
brings me back
to the thing that we are
and so many
have forgotten
candombe
the thing I am
As I listened to the drums outside my window (Montevideo, Llamada day 1, 2015)
La llamada me habla
Me cuenta cosas
desde otro tiempo
sabe de mí
y del pasado
pero es presente
suena en las tripas
vibra en los huesos
el corazón
de aquellos negros
el fuego nuestro
la llamada me escucha
desde adentro
y no se calla
aunque tu ausencia
mi danza ciega
y no se calla
y nunca miente
el tambor sangra
el tambor sana
el tambor llama
venga quien venga
El tambor suena
entre los cuerpos
calles de manos
curtidas
barrio de luna llena
Sur de mi cuerpo
Canto sin verbo
Africa Ámerica
Gondwana entera
Calles de piedra
lonja de pieles
Noche de fuego
Llamada grito sal sudor caderas
brillo de luna piel latido tiempo
Pecho partido
lleno
Vida
sangre caliente
Avanza goza mueve
Crece
Renace siempre
Soundtrack of us (Nov 9th, 2013)
The power of the drum
in Sur
right now
it is the opposite
of falling bombs
it is the pulse of life
and even if
I stay inside
and listen to a Hitchens talk
I am out there
with them
I let the Life
flow through my veins
my English language brain
my Uruguayan heart
I am outside
with them
and though I´m white
and we live in an age
of slavery disguised
I too
am crying for freedom
I am a white-haired
black woman
carrying her worn out flesh
towards the beat
in a colonial slum
in old Montevideo
by the sea
My heart jumps out
my inner chains
are split
The drum is me
Untitled (June 9th, 2013)
the barrio is drumming
the llamada is calling you
it´s drumming cats and lovers
maybe one day
it´ll be a rain of you
Candombe fade (Montevideo, July 25th, 2012)
I´m torn between myself and I
b´tween me
and the thing I am
en el candombe me pierdo
y no me encuentro más
Antes de la llamada/African queens (Montevideo, on the day before llamadas, Feb 8th, 2012)
My back hurts
my heart melts
the drums won´t wait
till I can dance
they will come droning in
like lazy bees
disturb my semblance peace
my thin glass windows
won´t protect me
from their sting
I´ll have no choice
but to join in
and still
I´ll know
it´s not my drone
it´s not my throne
I should be dancing
only
to your beat
Snake charmer of hips (Barrio Sur, Montevideo, Feb 10th, 2012)
the llamada
is calling me
it knows no pain
no sleeplessness
no proper dress
it doesn´t lure
it snatches me
it pulls
it drags me by my hair
I have no stir
no will
I don´t have to want it
be ready
be prepared
to know
I will
be there
it comes in through my windows
first in a muffled
faraway drone
then it gets strong
and deafening
until I can´t
think anymore
do anything
unless I cave
unless I go
and dance with them
release the body
surrender all control
set my hips free
and let them do
what they were meant for
bajar a la llamada
meterse en el calor
hundirse en el sudor
bajar
quedarse ahí
en la llamada
perderme entre el tambor
