Sunday, December 2, 2018

3106. The Cuban Five and Silvio Rodriguez

By Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, November 28, 2018

Image may contain: 2 people, outdoor
Statue of John Lennon, Havana, Cuba.  

"Today is the birthday of Gerardo Hernández, a man who has been imprisoned for more than ten years, in my opinion, unjustly. To him and his four companions, to whom we Cubans consider our five heroes [The Cuban Five], I want to dedicate this song "... so said Silvio [Rodriguez] on June 4, 2010, before starting to play his song, The Chosen One, Nothing less than at Carnegie Hall in New York. Today November 29 is the birthday of Silvio Rodriguez, great yesterday, today and always. And as the five of us will never forget who we owe so much, we want to give you this photo of Ahmed Velazquez, and with her say 'Congratulations, Maestro.'"

Lyrics to The Chosen One in English:

The Chosen One

Always, when making up a story
one tells of an old man, a child or oneself
but my story is difficult
I am not going to talk about a common man.

I'll make up the story of a being from another world
of an animal from the galaxies
a story related to the course of the milky way
it's a story that is buried
it's about a being from nowhere

He was born from a storm
In the sun of a night
on the penultimate month
traveling from planet to planet
looking for fresh water
maybe looking for life
or maybe looking for death
one never knows
maybe looking for silhouettes
or something similar which is adorable
or at least likeable, desirable, in other words: lovable

He discovered that king Salomon's mines
were found in the heavens
not in the scorching Africa
as people have thought
but stones are cold
And he was more interested in warmth and joys
the jewels did not have a soul
they were just mirrors; shinny colours
So he finally came down to war
Sorry, I meant to Earth*
He learnt our story suddenly**
he felt crushed glass inside his head
and understood that war
was the peace of the future
The most terrible things are learnt at once
and the beautiful ones cost us our lives
Last time I saw him he was going away
amidst smoke and shrapnel
happy and naked
he was killing scoundrels
with his gun from the future


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