TUNES FOR TUESDAY - Yamulemao

By -
After a summer break, Tunes for Tuesdays is back.

Much has happened since our last entry in this series. Most notably, Joe Arroyo passed away in July at a clinic in Barranquilla, Colombia. He was only 56 years old. Colombians lamented, cried, remembered, and then sang and danced to Joe Arroyo's music. "It's the best way to say good bye" they said. It was yet another excuse for a big party in Barranquilla, a city that has never experienced a shortage of such opportunities.

All the big names in Colombian music had something to say. From Shakira and Juanes to Fruko, who cried on camera. Even the President of Colombia made a public statement. Abroad, Willie Colon and Oscar D'Leon, among others sent their condolences from the USA, and the BBC reminisced about a time when Island Records distributed his music throughout Europe. Then others also reminisced: that it was Fuentes who discovered him in 1972, that he used to sing in brothels in Cartagena as a little boy wearing a bucket on his head, that he came from the African Barrios of Cartagena de Indias, that there he learned the language of a Senegalese tribe whose words he often incorporated into his songs, that at the top of his success he was using crack cocaine, that he created his own music genre, the Joeson.

The usual Colombian-style controversies followed: That --yet another-- "exhaustive investigation" should be conducted to determine whether his wife had exploited him during the last months of his life by making him appear at concerts while terribly ill. That his surviving relatives were quarreling over the control of his fortune. That at age 56, a simple case of pneumonia should not kill anyone were it not for the Colombian health care system. . . . All the while a Soap Opera about his life continues to run with strong ratings and with a realistic end to come soon. En fin, it is another episode of Macondian proportions in our Colombia.


But here's a curious song by Joe Arroyo, Yamulemao:


Comments

Notorious MLE said…
This is a great song and especially good for beginning dancers as it's nice and slow.
August 31, 2011 at 8:17 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Muisca Indigenous Names, from Hunza (Tunja)

By -
In response to this week’s posts on names, I have received several e-mails asking about the names of famous Colombians and their stories and about Indigenous names. I plan to spend the next three days sharing some of them. Also, I will continue to post more in the future and you will be able to find them all by clicking on the NAMES link the LABELS section to the right of the blog. Name: AQUIMÍN ( pronounced: ah key MEAN) or AQUIMINZAQUE (pronounced: ah key mean ZAH kay) When the Spanish arrived on the plains of Bogotá, 1536, they found a great nation. In fact, it was the third largest group of indigenous inhabitants in America. They called themselves the Muiscas , which meant ‘the people’. Their language was called Chibcha . The Muiscas were not a united group, but rather a collection of city states. The majority of the power was held by two main cities – what today are called Bogotá and Tunja (in Boyacá). These two cities were mortal enemies and each enlisted the loy
Read more

Popular Colombian Names

By -
Recently, I was asked to write a post on Colombian names, and popular Colombian names. I had a hard time finding a list, but eventually I did find one. According to I.N.E. - Instituto Nacional de Estadística, -- unfortunately, when I found this it doesn't say the year -- the most common Colombian boys names across all ages are: 1 JUAN CARLOS 2 CARLOS ALBERTO 3 ALEXANDER 4 ANDRES FELIPE 5 LUIS FERNANDO 6 DIEGO FERNANDO 7 JHON JAIRO 8 CARLOS ANDRES 9 ALEJANDRO 10 JUAN DAVID The girls are: 1 SANDRA MILENA 2 LUZ MARINA 3 CAROLINA 4 PAULA ANDREA 5 CLAUDIA PATRICIA 6 MARIA EUGENIA 7 PAOLA ANDREA 8 DANIELA 9 LILIANA 10 MARTHA CECILIA Just as here, names go through ebb and flow. Fourteen years ago when we were married, I attended several baby baptisms and met numerous friends of my husband. At the time, it seemed like everyone was naming their kid Juan CAMILO (boy) or Maria CAMILA (girl). I met dozens of them. Then, about 7 years later, I heard tons of SANTIAGO, JULIAN, SEBASTIAN and FE
Read more

La Madremonte

By -
Image
The myth of the Madremonte (Mother Mountain), and I do say myth though many campesinos in Colombia believe in her today, has it's roots in the indigenous cultures of Colombia and is known throughout much of Colombia including Antioquia, Caldas, Arauca, Caqueta, Amazonas, Guainia, and perhaps more departments. The Madremonte looks like a large woman. She has large, bony hands, large teeth and Betty Davis Eyes -- which on closer examination glow. Her body is covered in leaves and moss. Her hair is a tangled mess of plants and moss which often covers her face. She lives in the mountains and jungles, (in Antioquia and Caldas she lives in swamps where streams are born. People who claim to have seen her, usually report to have done so near thickets and bushes in jungle like areas. Others report having heard her bloodcurdling screams and groans on stormy nights. She rules the winds, the rains, and all the vegetation, and her role is to protect nature. She punishes those who invad
Read more