Caminito del indio ( The tiny Indian Pathway) (印第安人的小徑)

Caminito del indio Caminito del indio Sendero colla Sembrao de piedras. Caminito del indio Que junta el valle con las estrellas. Caminito del indio Que junta el valle con las estrellas. Caminito que anduvo De sur a norte Mi raza vieja Antes que en la montaña La pachamama se ensombreciera. Antes que en la montaña La pachamama se ensombreciera Cantando en el cerro, Llorando en el río, Se agranda en la noche La pena del indio. El sol y la luna Y este canto mío Besaron tu piedras, Camino del indio. En la noche serrana Llora la quena su honda nostalgia Y el caminito sabe Quién es la chola, Que el indio llama Y el caminito sabe Quién es la chola, Que el indio llama Se levanta en el cerro La voz doliente de la baguala Y el camino lamenta Ser el culpable De la distancia. Y el camino lamenta Ser el culpable De la distancia   Cantando en el cerro, Llorando en el río, Se agranda en la noche La pena del indio. El sol y la luna Y este canto mío Besaron tus piedras, Camino del indio. Atahuapa Yupangui

The tiny Indian Pathway The little Indian way The high plain trail Seeded with stones The little Indian way That hugs the valley with stars The little Indian way That hugs the valley with stars     The tiny pathway that ran from south to north my ancient race that formerly in the mountains Mother earth would darken that formerly in the mountains Mother earth would darken   Singing in the hills Weeping in the river Aggravated in the night The Indian pain The sun and the moon And this song of mine kiss your stones The Indian pathway In the mountainous night the Indian flute weeps its deep nostalgia And the tiny pathways knows who the mixed breed is the Indian calls And the tiny pathways knows who the mixed breed is the Indian calls   There rises in the trail the sad voice of the mustang And the path laments being the guilty of faraway And the path laments being the guilty of faraway   Singing in the hills Weeping in the river Aggravated in the night The Indian pain.  The sun and the moon And this song of mine kiss your stones The Indian pathway tr. El Zorro

印第安人的小徑 印第安人的小徑 高原印第安人的小道 播滿石塊 印第安人的小徑 以星星襯著山谷  以星星襯著山谷。   那從南走至北的小徑 我那古老的民族 曾被大地之母 在山中晒黑 曾被大地之母 在山中晒黑。  在山中歌唱 在河中啜泣 印第安人的哀傷 在黑夜中越覺沉重。   太陽與月亮 與我這首歌 同吻你的石塊 印第安人的道路。 在山夜中印第安笛 泣訴著深深的懷舊 那小徑懂得 印第安人叫 雜種的是誰 那小徑懂 得印第安人叫 雜種的是誰。 山中響起 野馬的哀鳴 而那小路慨嘆著 那遙遠的 內疚 而那小路慨嘆著 那遙遠的 內疚。   在山中歌唱 在河中啜泣 印第安人的哀傷 在黑夜中越覺沉重。 太陽與月亮 與我這首歌 同吻你的石塊 印第安人的道路。     譯: 艾梭羅

I love the songs of Atahualpa Yupanqui(1908 – 1992). His songs are simple. His guitar work has a very marked folkloric feel to it: just simple chords liven up by his lilting and occasionally choppy rhythms, something which goes very well with the rhythmic movements of  his poetic lyrics about the lives of humble folks trying their best to live in an often hostile world.  In his songs, we learn about the humiliation of being second class citizens in a basically Hispanic culture because of their mixed Inca Indian origin. But they speak to the hearts of all oppressed minority of this world too.

Atahualpa Yupanqui was born in the Argentinan pampas some 200 KM from its capital Buenos Aires of a mixed Creole and Indian father and a mother from Basque Country of Northern Spain.  He was originally called Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburu but adopted his current name in honor of two ancient Inca kings, something he learned a lot about when he combed northwestern Argentina in search of local Indian culture when he was young. He has since become a famous guitarist, writer, singer and composer and the most important 20th century Argentinian folk musician. He was once a member of the Argentinian Communist Party and even took part in a failed uprising in 1931 after which he sought political refuge in Uruguay and did not return to Argentina until three years later. He was invited to sing on the Argentinian radio in Buenos Aires in 1935, which was also the year he met his future wife and lifelong musical collaborator the pianist Antonieta Paula Pepin Fitzpatrick, nicknamed "Nenette", aka "Pablo Del Cerro".

He visited France in 1949 and gave a performance in Paris July 1950  at the invitation of Edith Piaf and signed a contract with "Chant Du Monde", the recording company that published his first LP in Europe, "Minero Soy" (I am a Miner), which was voted winner of first prize for Best Foreign Disc at the Charles Cros Academy against some 350 other competitors from all over Europe in its International Folklore Contest, following which he toured Europe. But because he was a Communists, his works were banned by President Juan Peron in Argentina.

In 1952, Yupanqui returned to Buenos Aires and broke with the Communist Party. In 1963–1964, he toured  Colombia, Italy, Morroco, Egypt, Israel and Japan. When he toured Spain in 1967, he and his wife loved it so much that they had a house built in Cerro Colorado in Córdoba but for professional and other reasons, chose to settle in Paris.

In February 1968, Yupanqui was named Knight of  Ordes des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture for his lifelong work in enriching the literature of the French nation. Some of his songs are now included in the programs of Institutes and Schools where Castilian Literature is taught. In 1985, the  Konex Foundation of Argentina, granted him the pretigious Diamond Konex Award as the most important popular musician in the previous decade and in 1989, at the request of the University of Nanterre, Yupanqui wrote the  Parole sacrée ( the Sacred Spoken Word), a tribute to all oppressed peoples who fought to free themselves as part of the celebration of the centenary of the French Revolution.  He died in 1992, at the age of 84 in Nîmes, France and in accordance with his wishes, his remains were cremated and dispersed on his beloved Colorado Hill on 8 June 1992.