A chilling, profoundly beautiful rendition of the Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra's song, Puerto Montt Esta Temblando, about the earthquake in Chile in 1960. Sung by Pascuala Ilabaca, whom I had the overwhelming joy of seeing perform live on a patio by the ocean at sunset overlooking the colorful town of Valparaíso. I cried during this song.
The first/my favorite stanza:
Puerto Montt está temblando
Con un encono profundo.
Es un acabo de mundo,
Es un acabo de mundo,
Lo que yo estoy presenciando.
A Dios le voy preguntando
Con voz que es como un bramido,
Por qué mandó este castigo?
Respondió con elocuencia,
"Se me acabó la paciencia
Y hay que limpiar este trigo."
My (very) rough translation:
Puerto Montt is shaking with a deep rancor.
It is an end to the world, what I am now witnessing.
I ask God with a voice like a trumpet,
"Why did you command this punishment?"
He responded with eloquence,
"My patience ran dry, I needed to clean the mess."
Women with accordions rock my world.
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