Rafael Hernandez: El Corazón De Boriké

Remembering the iconic songs written by Puerto Rican Maestro Rafael Hernandez Marín (October 24, 1892 - December 11, 1965) is comparable to getting a blood transfusion from one of your relatives.  It has all the ingredients you need to built you from within.  It makes you proud.  It makes you strong. It takes you back.  To the beginning.  To your childhood.  To where you first felt a part of a much bigger family.  Boriké.  The Land of the Valiant Lord.

And no, Boriké, is not misspelled.  It is the Taino name and spelling of Puerto Rico.  Borinquen is the Spanish version. The translation and transformation of what the spaniards thought they heard and how the rest of the world endearingly calls the island.

Rafael was a mulatto, a descendant of African and Spaniard ancestry, who had a unique way of poetically bringing to light the plight and economic condition of the jibaro; the peasant farmer, on the island nation of Puerto Rico, during his lifetime.  There are no words that I can come up with to describe the genius behind this man's essence and vision. The best I can do is translate one of his works for you and let his magic infiltrate your soul.

Deciding which of his many works to translate was not an easy task.  Rafael wrote and composed so many beautiful Ballads, Danzas, Alguinardos,Zarzuelas, Guarachas, Lullabies, Boleros, Waltzes, more than 3,000 in all, that are still very resonate and viable to modern music aficionados.   His masterpieces "Preciosa" (Precious),  and "Lamento Borincano" (The Lament of the Puerto Rican) are as much part of Puerto Rican culture as are its flag and national anthem.  I decided to translate his song "Lamento Borincano" because it captures the sentiment and struggles of his people at a time when Puerto Rico was in a major transition economically and socially.

This particular blog is meant to introduce you to Rafael Hernandez, an exceptional musician, a great patriot and a divinely gifted artist.  It is by no means an autobiography of the man.   It is my greatest hope that you look up his music, listen to it and in doing so "resurrect" a great legend for future generations.

"LAMENTO BORINCANO"

Sale, loco de contento, con su calgamento para la ciudad, hay!  Para la ciudad.

(He goes, ecstatically happy, with his (vegetable) load towards the city, ah!  Towards the city.)

Lleva, en su pensamiento, todo un mundo lleno de felicidad, hay!  De felicidad.

(Has, in his thoughts (mind), a world filled with happiness, ah!  With happiness.)

Piensa remediar la situación, del hogar que es toda su ilusión, si!

(Wants to remedy the situation, of the home that is all his hope, yes!)

Y alegré (And happily)

El jibarito va, candando así, deciendo así, cantando así, por el camino.

(The peasant goes, singing so, saying so, singing so, on the road.)

Si yo vendo la carga, mi Dios querido, un traje a mi viejita voy a comprar.

(If I sale my (vegetable) load, my dear God, a dress for my (wife or elderly mother) I will buy.)

Y alegré (And happily)

Tambien su yegua va, al presentir aquel cantar, es todo un himno de alegría.

(Also the mare goes, feeling that the singing heard is a happy hymn for sure.)

Y en eso le sorprende la luz del día, y llegan al mercado de la ciudad.

(And in that atmosphere the light of day surprises them and they arrive at the market in the city.)

Pasa, la mañana entera, sin que nadie quiera, su carga comprar, hay!  Su carga comprar.

(Passes, the whole morning, without anyone wishing to buy his (vegetable) load, ah!  His load unsold.)

Todo, todo esta desierto, y el pueblo esta lleno de necesidad, hay!  De necesidad.

(Everything, everything is deserted and the town is in great need, ah!  In great need.)

Se oye este lamento por doquier (donde quiera), de mi desdichada Borinquen, sí!

(This lament is heard throughout, of my calamitous Borinquen (Puerto Rico), yes!)

Y triste (And unhappily)

El jibarito va, llorando así, pensando así, diciendo así, llorando así, por el camino.

(The peasant goes, crying so, thinking so, saying so, crying so, on the road.)

"Que será de Borinquen, mi Dios querido, que será de mis hijos y de mi hogar?"

(What will become of Borinquen, my dear God, what will become of my children and my home?)

Oh Borinquen! La tierra del Edén, la que al cantar, el gran Gautier, llamo la perla de los mares.

(Oh Borinquen! The land of Eden, the one sang by, the great Gautier (famous Puerto Rican Poet), (who) proclaimed (it) the pearl of the seas.)

Ahora que tu te mueres con tus pesares dejame que te cante yo también.

(Now that you are dying with your sorrows, allow me also to sing to you.)

Borinquen de mi amor!

(Borinquen (of) my love!)

Yo soy hijo de Borinquen.  (I am a son of Borinquen.)

Y eso nadie lo va a cambiar.  (And that, no one will change.)

Y el dia que yo me muera, en ti quiero descansar.  (And the day that I die, in you I wish to rest.)

Yo te adoro Puerto Rico! (I adore you Puerto Rico!)

Y eso nadie me lo va a quitar.  (And that no one will take from me.)

*Researched Lyrics at MusicstarX.net
Lamento Borincano sang by: Marc Anthony.

Researched Bio at Wikipedia; Rafael Hernandez.

Translator: Yours Truly :)

Puerto Rico - An American State 113 Years in The Making; Part I

Throughout my lifetime, I have had to explain to my American countrymen exactly what is the correlation between Puerto Rico and the United States.  It boggles my mind how little the average American knows regarding the politics that have given puertoricans their current U.S. Citizen status. Some aren't even aware that puertorricans are in fact U.S. Citizens.  Let this blog serve as Legal Notice to all my fellow Americans, we are indeed, real bona fide Americans; with some stipulations, of course.

As with all my blogs, a brief history into the subject matter is necessary and my pleasure to oblige.

The island of Puerto Rico is merely 110 miles long by 40 miles wide.  Among its territory is included the smaller surrounding islands of Vieques, Culebra and Mona.  It is the smallest of the Greater Antilles Islands, in the Caribbean Sea; an unincorporated territory of the United States, located east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands.

Discovered by Christopher Columbus, November 19, 1493, on his second voyage to the Americas; it is so small in land mass that he just simply sailed right by it the first time.  Puerto Rico was originally named by Columbus, Saint John the Baptist (San Juan el Bautista).  As time went on, due to popular common usage, the name of its principal port and the island were reversed.  Sailors and merchants referred to the entire island as Puerto Rico (Rich Port) and the northeastern port where they made their fortunes as San Juan.

The indigenous people that inhabited the island at the time of discovery, were Arawak Indians known as Tainos.  Mostly hunters and fishermen, whom by archeological findings, are theorizied to have traveled from the region of the Orinoco river, on the northern South American area of what is today known as Venezuela.  They called the island "Borike", meaning "Land of the Valiant Lord", in Spanish, Borike became "Borinquen", a phrase still commonly used by and for modern day puertoricans.  "Boricua" or "Borinqueno" is used to describe a person born on the island or of puertorican heritage.  The island is also popularly known in Spanish as "La Isla del Encanto" which means "The Island of Enchantment" in English.  It is the main reason why I proudly proclaim that we, the United States, have a little piece of paradise in our own backyard, Puerto Rico.

As is now so commonly known with the history of the colonization of the New World, these indigenous people were nearly driven to extinction by the diseases (small pox), forced labor (slavery) and many years of ill treatment inflicted by their Spanish conquerors.  Within 50 years the Taino population were reduced to such small numbers that the importation of Sub-Saharan African slaves was introduced to provide the new manual work force for the Spanish colonists and merchants.  African slavery was primarily restricted to coastal ports and cities, while the interior of the island continued to be essentially unexplored and undeveloped. Wikipedia


Spain quickly realized this newly discovered island's strategic location in its quest for colonial expansion.  Various forts and walls, such as La Fortaleza, El Castillo San Felipe del Morro and El Castillo de San Cristobal, were built to protect the port of San Juan from numerous European invasion attempts.  The port of San Juan became an important port of call for ships of all European nations for the purposes of replenishing water, food and other necessities, and making repairs for the continuation of their journeys to North, Central and South America.  Puerto Rico was under Spanish rule, influence and military protection for over 500 years.

Just before the Spanish-American War broke out between the two super powers, Puerto Rico was going through some political growing pains with the Motherland.  In 1809, Spain attempted to secure its stronghold on its New World colonies, by allowing representatives of its Spanish colonies to participate in parliamentary proceedings in the Mainland Iberia.  The first Spanish parliamentary representative from the island of Puerto Rico was Ramon Power y Giralt.  Several independent movements organized themselves during this time.  Poverty and political estrangement with Spain led to a small but significant uprising in 1868 known as "Grito de Lares."  Leaders of this independence movement included Ramon Emeterio Betances, considered the "father" of the Puerto Rican independence movement, and other political figures such as Segundo Ruiz Belvis. Wikipedia

To elaborate on the above Wikipedia notation, on September, 28, 1868, Manuel Rojas, Commander in Chief, of the Puerto Rican Liberation Army, led 800 men and women in a revolt against Spanish rule and took the town of Lares, in what is known as the "Grito de Lares" (The Cry of Lares).

In 1897, Luis Munoz Rivera, an autonomous political thinker and father of the future first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Munoz Marin; along with others, persuaded the liberal Spanish government to agree to Charters of Autonomy for Cuba and Puerto Rico.  In the month of February, in 1898, Puerto Rico's first, but short-lived, autonomous government was organized as an "overseas province" of Spain.  In other words, Puerto Rico became an autonomous, if not, a totally independent country on July 17, 1898.

On July 25, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States with a landing at Guanica.  As an outcome of the war, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with the Philippines and Guam to the U.S. under the Treaty of Paris.  Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba, but did not cede it to the U.S.  Wikipedia  And thus, ended our romance with the idea of Independence; for the moment.  This chapter is still in deliberations with Congress and the puertorican population on the island.

In noticing the extensive background of the puertorican experience, I have decided that this is a good place to divide this blog into at least two parts.  I will end Part I here.  And continue with the modern day issues and my own commentaries on the subject in Part II; to be concluded, hopefully within the next few days.