"Latinoamérica" by Calle 13 ft. Totó La Momposina, English translation of lyrics
"Latin America"
Album: Entren Los Que Quieran (Enter Whoever Wants To), 2010
Style: Fusion of salsa, cumbia, tango, and spoken word.
Countries: Puerto Rico (Calle 13), Colombia (Totó La Momposina), Peru (Susana Baca), Brazil (Maria Rita)
Listen:
This song is a celebration of the diversity of Latin America; I love it. See the music video at YouTube here. The album won a record nine Latin Grammy Awards in 2011, with this track winning record of the year and song of the year. The album has also been nominated for the 2012 Grammys.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
[Spanish intro by DJ in Peruvian mountains:]
Muy buenos dias a todos los amables oyentes
En esta mañana de su radio...
Very good morning to all the lovely listeners
This morning on your radio...
[The introduction switches to an indigenous language of Latin America (Quechua)]
[Calle 13 begins in Spanish:]
Soy... soy lo que dejaron,
Soy toda la sobra de lo que te robaron,
Un pueblo escondido en la cima.
Mi piel es de cuero, por eso aguanta cualquier clima.
I am... I am what was left behind,
I am everything left over from when they robbed you,
A village hidden in the mountain top.
My skin is leather, that’s why it withstands any climate.
Soy una fábrica de humo,
Mano de obra campesina para tu consumo,
Frente de frío en el medio del verano,
El amor en los tiempos del cólera, ¡mi hermano!
I am a smoke factory,
A rural workforce for your consumption,
A cold front in the middle of summer,
Love in the time of cholera, my brother! [*reference to a Nobel Prize-winning novel by Gabriel García Márquez]
Soy el sol que nace y el día que muere
Con los mejores atardeceres.
Soy el desarrollo en carne viva,
Un discurso político sin saliva.
I am the sun that begins and the day that dies [*lit. I am the sun that is born and the day that dies]
With the best sunsets.
I am development in the flesh,
A political speech without saliva.
Las caras más bonitas que he conocido,
Soy la fotografía de un desaparecido,
La sangre dentro de tus venas.
Soy un pedazo de tierra que vale la pena.
The most beautiful faces I have ever known,
I am the photograph of someone disappeared,
The blood in your veins.
I am a piece of land that is worth it.
Una canasta con frijoles,
Soy Maradona contra Inglaterra
Anotándote dos goles.
A basket filled with beans, [*a staple food in Latin America]
I am Maradona versus England,
Scoring two goals. [*Argentina beat England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, just after the Falklands War]
Soy lo que sostiene mi bandera.
La espina dorsal del planeta es mi cordillera.
I am what holds up my flag.
The dorsal spine of the planet is my mountain range. [*alt. The backbone of the planet is my mountain range.]
Soy lo que me enseñó mi padre:
El que no quiere a su patria, no quiere a su madre.
Soy América Latina,
Un pueblo sin piernas, pero que camina.
I am what my father taught me:
He who does not love his country, does not love his mother.
I am Latin America,
A village without legs, but which still walks.
Oye!
Hear!
Spanish chorus with Totó La Momposina:
---------------------------------------------
Tú no puedes comprar el viento,
Tú no puedes comprar el sol,
Tú no puedes comprar la lluvia,
Tú no puedes comprar el calor.
You cannot buy the wind,
You cannot buy the sun,
You cannot buy the rain,
You cannot buy the heat.
Tú no puedes comprar las nubes,
Tú no puedes comprar los colores,
Tú no puedes comprar mi alegría,
Tú no puedes comprar mis dolores.
You cannot buy the clouds,
You cannot buy the colors,
You cannot buy my joy,
You cannot buy my sorrows.
---------------------------------------------
(x2)
[Calle 13:]
Tengo los lagos, tengo los ríos,
Tengo mis dientes pa' cuando me sonrió,
La nieve que maquilla mis montañas,
Tengo el sol que me seca y la lluvia que me baña.
I have the lakes, I have the rivers,
I have my teeth for when I smile,
The snow that dresses up my mountains,
I have the sun that dries me and the rain that bathes me.
Un desierto embriagado con peyote,
Un trago de pulque para cantar con los coyotes,
Todo lo que necesito.
A desert intoxicated with peyote, [*a cactus with psychoactive properties, important in indigenous Latin American culture]
A swallow of pulque to sing with the coyotes, [*pulque is an ancient alcoholic drink made of agave plants, also historically important in indigenous culture]
Everything I need.
Tengo a mis pulmones respirando azul clarito,
La altura que sofoca,
Soy las muelas de mi boca, mascando coca.
I have my lungs breathing in clear blue, [*fresh air]
The altitude that smothers,
I am the molars in my mouth, chewing coca. [*a cash crop in the Andes]
El otoño con sus hojas desmayadas,
Los versos escritos bajo la noches estrellada,
Una viña repleta de uvas,
Un cañaveral bajo el sol en Cuba.
The autumn with its fainting leaves,
The verses written under the starry night, [*reference to a poem by Pablo Neruda]
A vine covered in grapes,
A sugarcane plantation below the Cuban sun.
Soy el mar Caribe que vigila las casitas,
Haciendo rituales de agua bendita,
El viento que peina mi cabellos.
I am the Caribbean sea that watches over the little houses,
Fulfilling rituals with holy water,
The wind that combs my hair.
Soy: todos los santos que cuelgan de mi cuello.
El jugo de mi lucha no es artificial
Porque el abono de mi tierra es natural.
I am: all the saints that hang from my neck.
The essence of my fight is not artificial
Because the fertilizer of my land is natural.
[Spanish chorus: "Tú no puedes comprar el viento..."]
Portuguese translation of chorus, sung by Maria Rita:
---------------------------------------------
Não se pode comprar o vento,
Não se pode comprar o sol,
Não se pode comprar a chuva,
Não se pode comprar o calor.
You cannot buy the wind,
You cannot buy the sun,
You cannot buy the rain,
You cannot buy the heat.
Não se pode comprar as nuvens,
Não se pode comprar as cores,
Não se pode comprar minha alegria,
Não se pode comprar as minhas dores.
You cannot buy the clouds,
You cannot buy the colors,
You cannot buy my joy,
You cannot buy my sorrows.
---------------------------------------------
No puedes comprar el sol...
No puedes comprar la lluvia.
You cannot buy the sun...
You cannot buy the rain.
(Vamos caminando) No riso e no amor, [*Portuguese]
(Vamos caminando) No pranto e na dor, [*Portuguese]
(Vamos dibujando el camino) El sol... [*Spanish]
(We keep walking) In laughter and love,
(We keep walking) In sorrow and pain,
(We keep drawing the way) The sun...
No puedes comprar mi vida.
(Vamos caminando) La tierra no se vende.
You cannot buy my life.
(We keep walking) The earth is not for sale.
[Calle 13:]
Trabajo bruto, pero con orgullo.
Aquí se comparte, lo mío es tuyo.
Este pueblo no se ahoga con marullo
Y si se derrumba yo lo reconstruyo.
Brute work, but done with pride.
Here we share, what is mine is yours.
This village does not drown in giant waves,
But if it crumbles, I will rebuild it.
Tampoco pestañeo cuando te miro,
Para que te recuerde de mi apellido.
La operación Condor invadiendo mi nido,
¡Perdono pero nunca olvido! Oye!
I don’t blink when I see you either,
So you will remember my (sur)name.
Operation Condor invading my nest,
I forgive but I never forget! Hear!
[Totó La Momposina:]
Vamos caminando.
Aquí se respira lucha.
Vamos caminando.
Yo canto porque se escucha.
We keep walking.
Here we breathe struggle.
We keep walking.
I sing because it is heard.
Vamos dibujando el camino.
(Vozes de um só coração.) [*Portuguese]
Vamos caminando.
Aquí estamos de pie.
We keep drawing the way.
(Voices from a single heart.)
We keep walking.
Here we are on our feet. [*alt. Here we are standing.]
¡Que viva la américa!
Long live the Americas!
No puedes comprar mi vida...
You cannot buy my life...
Translation Notes:
All my notes are in text or through links. The Wikipedia page for this song also breaks down the themes and historical references. This blogger also talks about Calle 13's references in this song and in their other songs.
Album: Entren Los Que Quieran (Enter Whoever Wants To), 2010
Style: Fusion of salsa, cumbia, tango, and spoken word.
Countries: Puerto Rico (Calle 13), Colombia (Totó La Momposina), Peru (Susana Baca), Brazil (Maria Rita)
Listen:
This song is a celebration of the diversity of Latin America; I love it. See the music video at YouTube here. The album won a record nine Latin Grammy Awards in 2011, with this track winning record of the year and song of the year. The album has also been nominated for the 2012 Grammys.
[Expand embedded video]
Click to viewTranslation:
[Spanish intro by DJ in Peruvian mountains:]
Muy buenos dias a todos los amables oyentes
En esta mañana de su radio...
Very good morning to all the lovely listeners
This morning on your radio...
[The introduction switches to an indigenous language of Latin America (Quechua)]
[Calle 13 begins in Spanish:]
Soy... soy lo que dejaron,
Soy toda la sobra de lo que te robaron,
Un pueblo escondido en la cima.
Mi piel es de cuero, por eso aguanta cualquier clima.
I am... I am what was left behind,
I am everything left over from when they robbed you,
A village hidden in the mountain top.
My skin is leather, that’s why it withstands any climate.
Soy una fábrica de humo,
Mano de obra campesina para tu consumo,
Frente de frío en el medio del verano,
El amor en los tiempos del cólera, ¡mi hermano!
I am a smoke factory,
A rural workforce for your consumption,
A cold front in the middle of summer,
Love in the time of cholera, my brother! [*reference to a Nobel Prize-winning novel by Gabriel García Márquez]
Soy el sol que nace y el día que muere
Con los mejores atardeceres.
Soy el desarrollo en carne viva,
Un discurso político sin saliva.
I am the sun that begins and the day that dies [*lit. I am the sun that is born and the day that dies]
With the best sunsets.
I am development in the flesh,
A political speech without saliva.
Las caras más bonitas que he conocido,
Soy la fotografía de un desaparecido,
La sangre dentro de tus venas.
Soy un pedazo de tierra que vale la pena.
The most beautiful faces I have ever known,
I am the photograph of someone disappeared,
The blood in your veins.
I am a piece of land that is worth it.
Una canasta con frijoles,
Soy Maradona contra Inglaterra
Anotándote dos goles.
A basket filled with beans, [*a staple food in Latin America]
I am Maradona versus England,
Scoring two goals. [*Argentina beat England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, just after the Falklands War]
Soy lo que sostiene mi bandera.
La espina dorsal del planeta es mi cordillera.
I am what holds up my flag.
The dorsal spine of the planet is my mountain range. [*alt. The backbone of the planet is my mountain range.]
Soy lo que me enseñó mi padre:
El que no quiere a su patria, no quiere a su madre.
Soy América Latina,
Un pueblo sin piernas, pero que camina.
I am what my father taught me:
He who does not love his country, does not love his mother.
I am Latin America,
A village without legs, but which still walks.
Oye!
Hear!
Spanish chorus with Totó La Momposina:
---------------------------------------------
Tú no puedes comprar el viento,
Tú no puedes comprar el sol,
Tú no puedes comprar la lluvia,
Tú no puedes comprar el calor.
You cannot buy the wind,
You cannot buy the sun,
You cannot buy the rain,
You cannot buy the heat.
Tú no puedes comprar las nubes,
Tú no puedes comprar los colores,
Tú no puedes comprar mi alegría,
Tú no puedes comprar mis dolores.
You cannot buy the clouds,
You cannot buy the colors,
You cannot buy my joy,
You cannot buy my sorrows.
---------------------------------------------
(x2)
[Calle 13:]
Tengo los lagos, tengo los ríos,
Tengo mis dientes pa' cuando me sonrió,
La nieve que maquilla mis montañas,
Tengo el sol que me seca y la lluvia que me baña.
I have the lakes, I have the rivers,
I have my teeth for when I smile,
The snow that dresses up my mountains,
I have the sun that dries me and the rain that bathes me.
Un desierto embriagado con peyote,
Un trago de pulque para cantar con los coyotes,
Todo lo que necesito.
A desert intoxicated with peyote, [*a cactus with psychoactive properties, important in indigenous Latin American culture]
A swallow of pulque to sing with the coyotes, [*pulque is an ancient alcoholic drink made of agave plants, also historically important in indigenous culture]
Everything I need.
Tengo a mis pulmones respirando azul clarito,
La altura que sofoca,
Soy las muelas de mi boca, mascando coca.
I have my lungs breathing in clear blue, [*fresh air]
The altitude that smothers,
I am the molars in my mouth, chewing coca. [*a cash crop in the Andes]
El otoño con sus hojas desmayadas,
Los versos escritos bajo la noches estrellada,
Una viña repleta de uvas,
Un cañaveral bajo el sol en Cuba.
The autumn with its fainting leaves,
The verses written under the starry night, [*reference to a poem by Pablo Neruda]
A vine covered in grapes,
A sugarcane plantation below the Cuban sun.
Soy el mar Caribe que vigila las casitas,
Haciendo rituales de agua bendita,
El viento que peina mi cabellos.
I am the Caribbean sea that watches over the little houses,
Fulfilling rituals with holy water,
The wind that combs my hair.
Soy: todos los santos que cuelgan de mi cuello.
El jugo de mi lucha no es artificial
Porque el abono de mi tierra es natural.
I am: all the saints that hang from my neck.
The essence of my fight is not artificial
Because the fertilizer of my land is natural.
[Spanish chorus: "Tú no puedes comprar el viento..."]
Portuguese translation of chorus, sung by Maria Rita:
---------------------------------------------
Não se pode comprar o vento,
Não se pode comprar o sol,
Não se pode comprar a chuva,
Não se pode comprar o calor.
You cannot buy the wind,
You cannot buy the sun,
You cannot buy the rain,
You cannot buy the heat.
Não se pode comprar as nuvens,
Não se pode comprar as cores,
Não se pode comprar minha alegria,
Não se pode comprar as minhas dores.
You cannot buy the clouds,
You cannot buy the colors,
You cannot buy my joy,
You cannot buy my sorrows.
---------------------------------------------
No puedes comprar el sol...
No puedes comprar la lluvia.
You cannot buy the sun...
You cannot buy the rain.
(Vamos caminando) No riso e no amor, [*Portuguese]
(Vamos caminando) No pranto e na dor, [*Portuguese]
(Vamos dibujando el camino) El sol... [*Spanish]
(We keep walking) In laughter and love,
(We keep walking) In sorrow and pain,
(We keep drawing the way) The sun...
No puedes comprar mi vida.
(Vamos caminando) La tierra no se vende.
You cannot buy my life.
(We keep walking) The earth is not for sale.
[Calle 13:]
Trabajo bruto, pero con orgullo.
Aquí se comparte, lo mío es tuyo.
Este pueblo no se ahoga con marullo
Y si se derrumba yo lo reconstruyo.
Brute work, but done with pride.
Here we share, what is mine is yours.
This village does not drown in giant waves,
But if it crumbles, I will rebuild it.
Tampoco pestañeo cuando te miro,
Para que te recuerde de mi apellido.
La operación Condor invadiendo mi nido,
¡Perdono pero nunca olvido! Oye!
I don’t blink when I see you either,
So you will remember my (sur)name.
Operation Condor invading my nest,
I forgive but I never forget! Hear!
[Totó La Momposina:]
Vamos caminando.
Aquí se respira lucha.
Vamos caminando.
Yo canto porque se escucha.
We keep walking.
Here we breathe struggle.
We keep walking.
I sing because it is heard.
Vamos dibujando el camino.
(Vozes de um só coração.) [*Portuguese]
Vamos caminando.
Aquí estamos de pie.
We keep drawing the way.
(Voices from a single heart.)
We keep walking.
Here we are on our feet. [*alt. Here we are standing.]
¡Que viva la américa!
Long live the Americas!
No puedes comprar mi vida...
You cannot buy my life...
Translation Notes:
All my notes are in text or through links. The Wikipedia page for this song also breaks down the themes and historical references. This blogger also talks about Calle 13's references in this song and in their other songs.