Salsa has been a hugely popular style in Central and West Africa since the 1940s-1950s, and the goal of Africando was to merge salsa rhythms from both sides of the Atlantic, mainly based on the African salsa tradition.
Africando was initiated by West African producer Ibrahim Sylla, Malian arranger Boncana Maiga (of Fania All Stars) and legenday charanga singer Ronnie Baro. Some of the musicians initially involved were: Pape Seck (ex member of Star Band), Nicholas Menheim (associate of Youssou N'Dour), and Medoune Diallo (formerly with Orchestre Baobab).
The first two albums were a big success both in Africa and in the rest of the world. Singer Pape Seck died in 1995, and was replaced by Gnonnas Pedro from Benin (who died August 2005) and Ronnie Baro of Orquestra Broadway.
For the latest albums, well known African musicians, such as Tabu Ley Rochereau, Koffi Olomide, Salif Keita, Sekouba Bambino, Amadou Balake; and Thionne Seck were invited. This new constellation led to the new name Africando All Stars. Whilst in the beginning, the songs were Latin classics sung in wolof language or a mix of wolof and spanish, newer songs were African classics, redone with latin rhythms and instrumentation. With both approaches, Africando has been equally successful.
Te Voy a Matar... Con Amor
Africando Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Me enamoré de ti
Todo era distinto
Cuando estaba junto a ti,
Pero la vida
Te alejó de mi,
Y esa tarde
Yo supe
Te voa matar,
Te voa secuestrar,
Te voa asesinar,
Y con candado al pañuelo te voy a sonar
lalalai la ra la, lalalai la ra la, laralai la ra la la ra lai lai lai lai la
Te voy a estir,
Te voa sucumbir,
Te voy a zurcir
Y con Gillette picado te voy a escupir
lalalai la ra la, lalalai la ra la, laralai la ra la la ra lai lai lai lai la
Cebolla voy a picar,
Papa voy a hervir,
Un palo voy a conseguir
Y como anticucho te voy a ensartar
lalalai la ra la, lalalai la ra la, laralai la ra la la ra lai lai lai lai la
Te voy a citar,
Al bosquecillo te voy a llevar,
Cinco mulas voy a contratar
Ycomo a Tupak Katari te van a jalar lalalai la ra la, lalalai la ra la, laralai la ra la la ra lai lai lai lai la
Te voy a rapar,
Te voy a tatuar,
de tus entrañas chinchulin voy a confeccionar
Y con moneda de cincuenta te he de depilar
lalalai la ra la, lalalai la ra la, laralai la ra la la ra lai lai lai lai la
lalalai la ra la, lalalai la ra la, laralai la ra la la ra lai lai lai lai la
lalalai la ra la, lalalai la ra la, laralai la ra la la ra lai lai lai lai la
Pero...
Te quiero wuo wuoo
The lyrics of Africando's song Te Voy a Matar...Con Amor present a grotesque and paradoxical love confession. The singer starts by recalling the moments in which he fell in love with the person he sings to, and how everything was different when they were together. However, life separated them, and the singer decides to take extreme measures to have the object of his love back. Instead of expressing his feelings in a gentle way, he promises to kill, kidnap, and torture the person with love. The lyrics portray a conflation of violence and love, as the singer plans to commit atrocities while expressing his love.
Moreover, the song carries a Latin American cadence, with echoes of salsa and bolero music styles. The use of percussion, trumpets, and a catchy chorus reinforces the tone of passion and ferocity. The lyrics' interpretation, on the other hand, is open to different readings. Some people might take the words as a parody of toxic masculinity or a satire of machista attitudes that rationalize violence as a way of expressing love. Others might see it as another example of how love, in its extremes, can lead to irrational and dangerous behaviors. In any case, the song offers a rich terrain for discussion of themes such as gender, culture, and the relationship between love and violence.
Line by Line Meaning
Hace mucho tiempo
It was a long time ago
Me enamoré de ti
I fell in love with you
Todo era distinto
Everything was different
Cuando estaba junto a ti
When I was with you
Pero la vida
But life
Te alejó de mi
Took you away from me
Y esa tarde
And that afternoon
Yo supe
I knew
Que al fin...
That at last...
Te voa matar,
I'm going to kill you
Te voa secuestrar,
I'm going to kidnap you
Te voa asesinar,
I'm going to murder you
Y con candado al pañuelo te voy a sonar
And I'll tie a lock to your handkerchief and rattle it
Te voy a estir,
I'm going to stretch you out
Te voa sucumbir,
I'm going to make you succumb
Te voy a zurcir
I'm going to sew you up
Y con Gillette picado te voy a escupir
And I'll spit on you with a chopped-up Gillette razor
Cebolla voy a picar,
I'm going to chop onions
Papa voy a hervir,
I'm going to boil potatoes
Un palo voy a conseguir
I'm going to find a stick
Y como anticucho te voy a ensartar
And I'll skewer you like beef anticuchos
Te voy a citar,
I'm going to invite you
Al bosquecillo te voy a llevar,
I'm going to take you to a small forest
Cinco mulas voy a contratar
I'm going to hire five mules
Ycomo a Tupak Katari te van a jalar
And they'll drag you like they did to Tupak Katari
Te voy a rapar,
I'm going to shave your head
Te voy a tatuar,
I'm going to tattoo you
de tus entrañas chinchulin voy a confeccionar
I'll make chinchulines out of your intestines
Y con moneda de cincuenta te he de depilar
And I'll shave you with a fifty-cent coin
Pero...
But...
Te quiero wuo wuoo
I love you, wuo wuoo
Contributed by Camden S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.