Escuchando (Listening)

Carlos Vives is a popular musician from coastal Colombia. His music is described as "vallenato-pop," a mixture of contemporary pop music and traditional Colombian vallenato (featuring accordion*, drums, and an instrument that is played by scratching a fork-like wand across a metal tube covered with holes). I've been listening over and over to his song "Santa Marta - Kingston - Nueva Orleáns" because I feel sentimental and wistful about the descriptions of travel through places and moments that have become familiar to me, especially as my departure date gets closer.

I'm posting the song here to share (click the pink 'play' button to listen). Please forgive the potential copyright violation and my rough translation of the lyrics. I've footnoted ideas of interest.


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Santa Marta Kingston Nueva Orleáns
by Carlos Vives

Muy sola se quedó la ciudad, se fueron de vacaciones...
La situa no me deja viajar, me amarro los pantalones...
mejor voy al Parque Nacional, tranquilo en mi bicicleta....
perfecta se pone la ciudad para tomar una siesta....
soñando veo las fiestas del mar que salgo de Santa Marta,
vestido de marino en un barco de la Grancolombiana...
y al poco tiempo de navegar ya estoy en Kingston, Jamaica....
y hay alguien que me dice: ¡no problem, only peace in my island!

The city was left very alone, everyone went on vacation
My situation doesn't allow me to travel, I roll up my pantlegs
Better to go to the National Park, tranquil on my bike
The city makes itself perfect for a siesta
Dreaming, I see the ocean parties that leave from Santa Marta*
Dressed like a sailor in a ship of the Grancolombiana
and sailing a short time I am in Kingston, Jamaica
And someone says to me, No problem, only peace in my island!

Ay...voy disfrutando el paisaje...
Surcando la ruta del sol, no necesito pasaje...
Ay... te esperaré para el viaje...
De cumbias, reggaeton y rock and roll, yo preparé tu equipaje…

Ay... I go, enjoying the scenery
Following the path of the sun, I don't need a ticket
Ay... I will wait for you for the voyage
Of cumbia*, reggaeton*, and rock and roll, I will prepare your luggage

Y al Mississipi vimos al fin, la niebla en la madrugada....
Bailamos..I had come to Nueva Orleans..un vallenato en Louisiana
Parece no voy a despertar, no acaba mi itinerario...
Las gaitas yo comienzo a escuchar muy cerca está Maracaibo...

And to Mississippi we see at last the fog in the dawn
We dance... I had come to New Orleans, a vallenato in Louisiana
It seems that I'm not going to wake up, my schedule doesn't stop
I begin to listen to the bagpipes, Maracaibo* is very close

Ay...voy disfrutando el viaje..
Surcando la ruta del sol, no necesito pasaje...
Ay... te esperaré en el paisaje...
De cumbias, reggaeton y rock and roll, yo preparé tu equipaje…

Ay... I go, enjoying the trip
Following the path of the sun, I don't need a ticket
Ay... I will wait for you in the landscape
Of cumbias, reggaeton, and rock and roll, I will prepare your luggage

Prendido estaba ya el carnaval cuando llegué a Barranquilla..
En Ciénaga, fiestas del Caimán, parranda en la Alta Guajira...
Quizás mañana vuelva a viajar y me regrese pa’l valle...
Colacho* volverá al festival, ya preparé tu equipaje....

The Carnaval* was already on when I arrived in Barranquilla
In Ciénaga, parties of the Caimán, a spree in the Alta Guajira*
Maybe tomorrow I'll travel again and go back to the valley*
Colacho will return to the festival, now I'll prepare your luggage

*Accordian: Kids here dance. A lot. And they can move! I was really really amused the other day, though, when I noticed that my little super-cool six-year-old friend plays the air accordion (!) when he dances!
*Santa Marta is a city about 2 hours east of Barranquilla, on the coast. It’s well known for its beaches and Tayrona National Park
*Cumbia is another traditional Colombian musical style
*Reggaeton mixes hip-hop, rap and reggae
*Traci and I visited Maracaibo, Venezuela a few weeks ago
*Barranquilla’s Carnaval is the largest in Colombia, full of dancing and parades
*The Guajira are an indigenous group living on the border of Colombia and Venezuela
*Colacho is a famous accordion player