- Tree, Black mountain
mixtec poem
Mountain of Yucuninu
my apreciation is for you
you feed so many animals
when you burn
how sad it is, how sad it is
From you the trees grow,
and also the drunk flower,
the orchid, the cactus, the mushrooms
and everything that is necessary
Pine tree, wooden pieces, arbutus,
Someone watches over you,
and no one pays attention to you,
until they see you fall,
in the anger of the flames,
and then they remember you
You are what coffins are made from,
and seats, and beds, and everything
You are of vital importance.
from you, wood to cook with,
the carbon, tree!
the cross at the top of the mountain.
You are used for everything
that is why people take care of you
you are the one who gives us beauty
beautiful, beautiful, yucuninu!
Your beauty is bewitching
when we see you from afar
you dress in black
and in black we will continue to see you.
Simona
zapotec song by Manuel Reyes Cabrera,Ta Rey Baxa
You begged me to come see you
at your death bed, sweet love of mine
but your mother did not allow it
next to your grave I cry in grief
next to your grave I cry in grief
Please ask God for a miracle
tomorrow, I will join you
I do not want to suffer this inmense pain,
beautiful queen, my heart
beautiful queen, my heart
I am an orphan in this life
all my brothers and sisters have married
I cry because of this cruel abandonment
I have no one to look after me
I have no one to look after me
Many make fun of me when they see me crying
they say I should find someone else
but how can I forget you, my Simuna
I swore my love to you, since we were children
I swore my love to you, since we were children
Arbol de la vida
Arbol de Apoala
Lila Downs, Paul Cohen
traducci髇 al Mixteco: Ubaldo L髉ez
Tree of Life
From a tree is born the fruit of humanity
the seed germinates in a cave of spirits
the serpent and fire from this place
indicated to the people
to inhabit the mountain of the sky
in the direction of fertility (the east)
in the direction of the sun's birth,
....house of life
Stones give birth to men who will invoke
the search for their freedom
twenty eight years will pass
in war
the sacred war of the sky
the search for another cult
the force of power and ritual
....time for dying
Tree of my blood
Tree of my children
Tree of life
Tree of my god
From a tree is born a fruit made woman
death surrounds her power
the branches of her blood will die
her house and town
will be abandoned
fire and blood will stain
the fruits of her fertility....
will become the mother earth
will become the mother earth
Blue sand
Blue sand
where did you come from?
last night the rain fell
and it released you
Are you a cuban woman?
no, I'm not a cuban woman
are you a jarocha woman?
no, I'm not a jarocha woman?
what would you like to be?
I'm a butterfly
Moon,
From the buried umbilical cord
Oh gods of the world, their temples, their different directions
to the north the darkness
to the south is death
the sun to the east, and the pulque* to the west with Venus
Moon, which the clay swings in the foam
of all of the nights of my solitude
I follow the steps you lead me to
where you came from until the place I end
I see my reflexion in puddles of blood
I feel a perpetual tranquility
of past times, of ancient men
oh voices, oh lights
leaving their sign
And I believe in the mouth of my earth
that from the root feeds my belly button
the mouth of the dead that is found in my center
my center, my temple of life
my center, my temple of life
Nine Wind
A cloud snake and a rain snake
are gliding from the heavens
male snake, you fell from the sky
you came looking for your female, by the snake river
with a drum, you sang the words of smoke
you enticed woman, with your storms of witchcraft
snake of the clouds, snake of the rain
oh sacred wind, you come from the eastern dawn
man is born from the stones
then he becomes snake
who claims to know, god's mysterious ways?
Soul
zapotec song by Manual Reyes Cabrera, Ta Rey Baxa
If you go and leave me,
little goddess
whom my heart loves the most
wherever you go, I will follow
you are the soul
that god has sent
to guide me to my death
This inmense land
is beautiful when you are with me
I no longer need to go to heaven
since I have found who to die with
This inmense land
is beautiful when you are with me
since I have found who to die with
my suffering has now ended
Nueve Hierba
Iin yuku kuii
Lila Downs, Paul Cohen
traducci髇 al mixteco: Juan de Dios Ortiz Cruz
Nine Grass
Woman of god
the prophet of herbs
woman, from the age of time
goddess of the world of the dead
woman of god
woman of darkness
woman of sacred times
goddess of the world of the dead
veins and flesh, your fruit has grown
the earth your blood you will always thirst for
A cotton pod my mother carries
she is the goddess of weaving
queen of the south
direction of death, herself
who drinks the green white water (pulque)
She comes from the fog
her mountain; cranium and stone
goddess of the earth
you will live forever
碠rphanage chant
n醜uatl song by Natalio Hern醤dez
Tomorrow...
tomorrow when I die
I do not want you to be sad;
to this place
to this place I will return
I will come in the form of a hummingbird
Woman...
when you look to the sun
smile with happiness
there...
there I will be with our father
a good light I will send to you.
The Iguana
traditional
An iguana fell from the top of a ladder
from the fall she hurt her hip
ay my iguana, where are you going to?
...I'm going to the town of solitude
to see if it's true or if it's a lie
that there's nothing new in that town
and if there was , it's just a coincidence...
she's such an ugly one, what an ugly iguana,
she goes up a stick, and she moves around
she lays her egg, and sits on it
she hides in a little hole, so nobody sees her
she looks at herself in the mirror,
because she's so ugly
you do the same
so that you really believe it
An iguana fell from the branch of a an amate branch
from the fall she hurt her hip
ay my iguana, where are you going to?
...I'm going to the town of solitude
to see if it's true or if it's a lie
that there's nothing new in that town
and if there was , it's just a coincidence...
she's such an ugly one, what an ugly iguana,
she goes up a stick, and she moves around
she lays her egg, and sits on it
she hides in a little hole, so nobody sees her,
she shows her little
eg, she kind of kicks,
she shows her little tail, she sort of moves it,
she shows her little nails, she kind of scratches
she shows her little eyes, she kind of moves them
she shows her head, she kind of shakes it,
she shows her nose, she kind of moves it,
she shows her ear, she kind of wiggles it,
an iguana fell from the branch of an amate tree.
Tres Pedernal
Yuu yuchi-ri
Lila Downs, Paul Cohen
Three Flint
Lila Downs, Paul Cohen
mixtec translation by Juan de Dios Ortiz Cruz
Woman, who is born in the silence of the night
from the conch shell, she breathes the air from this red world
and though the truth is hidden behind the stones,
she can be seen dancing with death before the steam bath
stone woman, stone woman, my stone woman
By the river of the white palm and in the presence
of the gods, stone woman comes down naked from the sky
red and pearls are her dress, during the sun of movement,
she arrives,
stone woman, stone woman, my stone woman
Stone seed
I am the daughter of a man of stone
a deer and wind gave birth to me
I was born the color of the earth
from a fire and steam bath
I searched the world for my purpose
I believed the truths of others
from my conscience the need arose
to seek the sky of my childhood
I returned to the sanctuary of stone and clay men
back to the womb of blood stained by everything
to the land of childhood and death
to the wind that set my luck
I came back to the land of sentiment
where I could not find what I was looking for
for this moment I have lived
today, I have gained my lost pride.
玛雅