Sunday, April 13, 2014

My discovery of Calle 13 "El aguante"

Who likes Spanish music?
I do!

Calle 13 is a Hispanic rap group which I recently discovered through my husband. On our honeymoon to San Francisco we ended up listening to a Shakira CD and on that CD there was a song where Shakira featured Calle 13. My honest first reaction to that was speechless because of the way they said things.

My husband then told me that he really liked that group and that they are the type of band that just says things straight out and so I looked up a couple of their songs. I found out they have many songs that are sexual, but they also have many songs that speak the pure truth. So therefore I wanted to give you guys a translation of my favorite song I have heard from them. Okay, it might not be full translation because the song is really long, but you guys get the point. This song is about how humans can endure.

El Aguante
Nacimos para aguantar lo que el cuerpo sostiene  - We were born to endure what the body can take
aguantamos lo que vino y aguantamos lo que viene. -We endure what happened and what's going to happen
Aguantamos aunque tengamos los segundos contados,-We endure even if we have the seconds counted
nuestro cuerpo aguanta hasta quince minutos ahorcado.- Our bodies endure up to15 minutes hanged

 aguantamos el frío del Ártico, el calor del Trópico-
We endure the cold of the artic, heat of the tropics
aguantamos con anticuerpos los virus microscópicos -with antibodies we endure microscopic viruses
aguantamos las tormentas, los huracanes, el mal clima-We endure storms, hurricanes, and bad weather
aguantamos Nagasaky, aguantamos Hiroshima...- We endured Nagasaki, we endured Hiroshima
aunque no queramos, aguantamos nuevas leyes-Even if we don't want to, we endure new laws
aguantamos hoy por hoy que todavía existan reyes-we endure that we still have kings
castigamos al humilde y aguantamos al cruel- we punish the humble and endure the cruel
aguantamos ser esclavos por nuestro color de piel- we endure being slaves because of our color of skin
aguantamos el capitalismo, el comunismo, el socialismo, el feudalism-we endure capitalism, communism, socialism

 Aguantamos cualquier tipo de dolor aunque nos duela- We endure any pain even if it hurts
aguantamos Pinochet, aguantamos a Videla,- We endured Pinochet, Videla
a Franco, Mao, Ríos Montt, Mugabe, -Franco, Mao, Rios Montt, Mugabe
Hitler, Idi Amin, Stalin, Bush, Truman, Ariel Sharón y Hussein- Hitler, Idi Amin,Stalin,Bush,Truman,Sharon and Hussein
aguantamos más de veinte campos de concentración-We endured more than 20 concentration camps
cuando nadas bajo el agua, aguantas la respiración;-when you swim underwater you hold your breath
 el que no fuma se aguanta el olor a cigarillo.-If you don't smoke you endure the second hand smoke

 aguantamos el salario mínimo y el desempleo- We endure minimum wage and unemployment
  en la ciudad de Pompeya  - In Pompeii
aguantamos lava volcánica y dentro de la lógica-we endured volcanic lave and in the logic
de nuestra humanidad, nos creemos la mentira de que nadie aguanta la verdad - of our humanity, we believe lies and endure truth

 Aguantamos al ateo, al mormón, al Cristiano- we endure the Mormon, the christian
al budista, al judío,-the budist, the jew
 aguantamos el que vende balas y el que la dispara-we endure who sells bullets and who uses them
aguantamos la muerte de Lennon, la de Víctor Jara- we endured the death of Lennon, Victor Jara
aguantamos muchas guerras, la de Vietnam, la Guerra Fría-We endured many wars, Vietnam, Cold War,
la Guerra de los Cien Años, la Guerra de los Seis Días-The hundred year war, the war of six days.
 
 
 
So there you guys have it.... I don't know I just really liked this song, I suppose because of the truth behind its words. I am sure there wasn't a single lie on those lyrics.
 
-Andy

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