Alquimia / Alchemy
Alquimia
Música y texto de Agustín Fernández
| I. Desiderata | I. Desiderata |
| Salir
De la prisión Que asfixia el alma |
To leave
the prison that suffocates the soul |
| Pasar
Entre las rejas Que enjaulan el vuelo De los deseos |
To pass
Between the bars That cage the flight Of one’s desires |
| Soltar
Las ataduras que ciñen los pies al centro de la tierra |
To unbind
The ties That bind one’s feet To the centre of the earth |
| Inhalar
Las moléculas que orbitan más allá de la duda y del temor |
To inhale
The molecules That orbit beyond Doubt and fear |
| Abrir
El portal del silencio Que salgan las palabras Que salgan, que limpien, que hieran, que salven |
To open
The gates of silence Let words come out Let them come out, let them cleanse, let them hurt, let them save |
| Descubrir
Los secretos Aunque causen destrucción |
To uncover
The secrets Even if they cause destruction |
| Flotar
En las alturas donde vuelas tú, en el reino del norte del río. |
To float
In the heights Where you fly In the kingdom north of the river |
| II. Dame (*) | II. Give me (**) |
|
In memoriam Rogers Becerra Casanovas |
|
| Dame, dame, con temeridad,
Aunque yo callare, chocolate |
Give me, give me, with temerity
Even if I were silent, chocolate |
| ¿Por qué condena sufrir aquí
si tú tienes llave para escapar? |
On what sentence should I suffer here
If you hold the key to escape? |
| Pasa, pasa, pasa tu maná
Desde las alturas para alimentar |
Pass, pass, pass your manna
From the heights to feed |
| Ni qué pureza más iraní
Nadie, nadie, nadie tema al álcali, alcaloide |
What an Iranian purity
No-one, no-one, no-one should fear the alkali, alkaloid |
| Dame, dame, hoja de mascar
Si yo acullicare qué felicidad |
Give me, give me, leaf to chew
If I mull, oh what joy |
| Ni qué potencia conminará
Saque saque, saque, erradíquela |
What power Hill command
Take it out, take it out, take it out, erradicate it |
| Porque soy pobre nadie me quiere
Nadie me quiere dar lo que quiero yo Ni chocolate en tutuma Ni hoja que masticar Ni sueño que conciliar |
Because I am poor no-one loves me
No-one wants to give me what I want Not chocolate in a gourd Not leaf to chew Not sleep to fall into |
| Te ama, te ama, mi necesidad
Yungas o Chapare, tú curas el mal. |
My need loves you, loves you
Whether Yungas or Chapare, you heal ills. |
| III. Más desiderata | III. More desiderata |
| Escalar tus cumbres
Aunque en las alturas Me embriague el vértigo |
To climb your peaks
Even if in the heights Vertigo intoxicates me |
| Abrirme paso en tu monte
a golpe de machete aunque me desgarren tus espinos |
To break a path for myself through your forest
By force of machete Even if your thorns rend me |
| Surcar tus aguas
Aunque en lo profundo naufrague yo |
To open a groove in your sea
Even if in its depths I were shipwrecked |
| Llegar, por fin,
Acercarme a ti, Y decirte: he cruzado mundos he cobrado víctimas he retado a los dioses he parado órbitas y desviado trayectorias Y ahora que he llegado necesito que seas Mi patria. © Agustín Fernández 2006 |
To arrive, at last,
To come close to you And to tell you: I have crossed worlds I have claimed victims I have defied the gods I have halted orbits And have deflected trajectories And now that I have arrived I need you to be My homeland. |
(*) Dame evoca material de la canción tradicional moxeña Piama, popular en la década de los años 1960 en la zona de Santa Cruz, Bolivia. El texto castellano es original mío, pero está concebido a imitación aproximada del sonido de las palabras moxeñas, a momentos refiriéndose también al significado del texto moxeño.
A.F.
(**) Give me evokes material from the traditional song Piama, from Moxos in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Of rural, indigenous origin, it became popular in the eastern Bolivian cities in the 1960s. The text of my song is by myself, but conceived in approximate imitation of the indigenous words of the original song, at times alluding also to their meaning. Hence the text’s resistance to translation.
AF