Spanish Steps

Listening Post 347. Walk from Tijuana to Tierra del Fuego singing in Spanish and everyone along the route will understand the lyrics, the 10,800 km (6,700 miles) between the two points constituting the longest more-or-less straight line in the world you can travel using a single language. Covering the music shared by Latin America and Spain is, of course, an encyclopedic task. But as impressionistic adventures go, Las historias que han dejado (The Stories Left Behind), Aguamadera’s third album, is remarkable: The duo of María Cabral and Marco Grancelli—formed in Buenos Aires, now based in Toulouse, France—covers an expansive range of music and dance styles, from Venezuelan joropo, merengue and gaita zuliana to Andean huayno; from Argentinian charango, chacarera and zamba to Peruvian waltz. The artists revitalize tradition with their sparkling solos, harmonies and arrangements, as well as new compositions for the old genres. They sing tales of joy and heartbreak, of drinking and prayer, and of characters—seamstress, blacksmith, peddler, peasant—in town and countryside, plus a noisy rooster who wins a court case. Almost every song involves coming, going or the sound of movement. Sad and lovely, Cuentapesares (Counting Sorrows, video 1), describes a sigh as it revolves endlessly; while No quiero más tu amor (I Don’t Want Your Love Anymore, video 2) is an anguished plea for a lover’s exit. El pregón de las flores (Floral Proclamation, video 3) follows an itinerant flower seller in search of buyers. The silky textures of a dressmaker’s creation trill as she walks in Teresita viste al baile (Teresita Dresses for the Dance, video 4). And in Huayno de sal, an exile traversing mountains and salterns witnesses the shadows of forgotten towns and hears “the whispers without a voice, the stories left behind” (video 5). In Aguamadera’s songs, past and present always walk in step. (Quart de Lune)

Aguamadera: Las historias que han dejado
Marco Grancelli: Vocals, guitar, cuatro (four-string guitar)
María Cabral: Vocals, cuatro, maracas
Elizabeth Morris: Vocals, backing vocals, flute, charangos, artistic director
Rally Barrionuevo: Guest vocals
Marta Gómez: Guest vocals
Solana Biderman: Bass
Mariano “Tiki” Cantero: Bombo, cajon, drums, percussion
Sebastian Luna: Mandolin
Emiliano Alvarez: Clarinet
Rafael Delgado: Cello
Ludivine Nebra: Charango
Valeria Curci: Backing vocals
Nuria Martinez: Quena, zampoña
Fernando Tapia: Guapeos
Nicolas Segovia: Charangos
Juan Abreu: Tambora

El pregón de las flores / Floral Proclamation
Lyrics & music: Rafael Salazar

I offer flowers/before they wither
I save the best of them/for the pretty girls

I carry flowers/in yellow, pink
Cut from the banks/of old singing rivers

I have roses, I have roses for the girls
Margaritas, margaritas for the pretty ones

I offer flowers/before they wither
I save the best of them/for the pretty girls

I’m offer flowers/in yellow, pink/
Cut from the banks/of old singing rivers

I have roses, I have roses for the girls
Poppies, poppies for those who are alone

I offer flowers/before they wither
I save the best of them/for the pretty girls

Orange blossoms, orange blossoms remove sorrows
I have roses, I have roses for the girls

I offer flowers/in yellow, pink
Cut from the banks/of old singing rivers

I offer flowers…

Teresita viste al baile / Teresita Dresses for the Dance
Lyrics & music: Marco Grancelli

Huayno de sal / Huayno of Salt
Lyrics: Marco Grancelli, Angel Hadziconstanti/Music: Marco Grancelli