Monday, January 26, 2009

Agua Santa Translations



La Procesión (The Procession)

Chorus: Listen to the drums
The Brotherhood is coming
Those who walk in the Light
The light of faithfulness

Chorus: Listen to the drums
The procession is coming
Those who walk in the shade
The shade of reverence

Chorus: Listen to the drums
The Brotherhood is coming
Those who walk in the Light
The light of charity

Chorus: Listen to the drums
The Fraternity is coming
Those who walk in the shade
The shade of antiquity

Chorus: “Step to one side when they pass through here!
For those who paved the way for us, the crowds will part!”

Ad lib: “Hear the song of the procession, the procession is arriving!”


Buscando y Pidiendo (Searching & Asking)

I am searching for a tree,
I don’t need to shade myself from the sun!
I asking for its beauty,
A prayer to nature!
I am searching for a tree,
Because I want to make a drum,
I am asking for the soul of the tree,
I want to make a drum!

Chorus: Aña, Aña, Aña, Aña,

I am searching for a goat,
That I don’t have to feed!
I asking for its beauty,
A prayer to nature!
I am searching for a goat,
So that my drum can speak!
I am asking for the voice of the goat,
So that my sound may astound!
I am searching for a goat,
So that my drum can speak!

Nadie me habló (Nobody Spoke to Me)

I can still hear, all of my sons crying
I can still hear, the women screaming
I remember that day, when my life thus passed
There, How I recall that day, when thus I died
And nobody spoke to me, when my life thus passed
Chorus: And nobody spoke to me!
I recall that day, when my life thus arrived
And nobody spoke to me, when thus I died
When they put me in the ground, nobody spoke to me
I recall that day, when the hour thus ended
I recall that day
Chorus: When nobody spoke to me!
There, How I recall that day
Chorus: When thus I died!
They buried me in the ground but nobody spoke to me
Where my book thus closes, they buried my in the ground
But nobody spoke to me
Chorus: when my life thus passed!
They gave me to the silence, nobody spoke to me
I waited in the ground
But nobody spoke to me!

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 35



Intro: Drummers of Burundi Live at the Real World Festival


Zaboko /The Music of the Baka Pygmies /African Rhythms
Caiana ja ta Madura /Banda de Kongos de Konshaca /Batuques do Sudeste
Mai /The Music of the Baka Pygmies /African Rhythms
Palavra de Rei /Leao Coroado /Maracatu Atomico


La Procesion /Rasheed Ali & Rain People /Agua Santa
Cuando de Africa Sali / Gregorio 'El Goyo' Hernandez /La Rumba es Cubana
The Brotherhood /Rasheed Ali / The Empty Vessel speaks
Heartbeat in the Music /Chatuye


Con tres Tambores Bata /Tata Guines /Aniversario
Buscando y Pidiendo /Rasheed Ali & Rain People /Agua Santa
Abakua /Los Rumberos de Cuba /Rapsodia Rumbera vol.2
Nadie me Hablo /Rasheed Ali & Rain People /Agua Santa




Enjoy! -- Rasheed Ali




Message from my friends in Brasil and more...


Any euphoria withstanding, we must admit as members of the African Diaspora that certain concepts of racial angst have been compromised and made bankrupt by Barack Obama's ascendancy to the presidency of the United States. Though I don't think racial prejudices will die a quick and certain death, I do believe our ancestors are smiling. For people such as myself, who live within a world of promoting and celebrating African Diaspora history and culture, we do not want anyone to compromise or bankrupt the realities of our Holocaust experience. I hope a part of this "new era" will be an honest look at the past, not ignoring and minimizing it.