She sang in public for the first time in a radio contest at the age of ten. She didn't win that year, but won the next year. Her early singing caught the attention of a movie producer who introduced her to the cinema audiences as "Ana Belen" in the movie "Zampo y Yo" when she was thirteen.
Ana didn't want to become a child-star and focused on her studying. It wasn't until she finished drama school that she went back performing in public, being theater her prefered way to do so. She did small incursions in movies till she was offered major parts.
In 1973 she was cast opposite Víctor Manuel in Morbo and he became her husband as well as the composer of the songs included in her first album. In 1982 she released "Ana en Rio", an album with Brazilian music that included the song "Balance" and became an instant hit.
In 1986, took one more step and became one of the first female movie directors in Spain with the movie "Cómo ser mujer y no morir en el intento" which earned her the Gold Medal of Spanish Cinematographic Academy. That year concluded with another major success, a tour with Victor Manuel and many special guests of which they released a live album: "Mucho mas que dos". The success of this tour lead to a new one, "El Gusto es Nuestro" with Miguel Rios, Joan Manuel Serrat y Victor Manuel.
She releases several albums through the 90's that achieve great success like "Veneno para el Corazon" that included Spanish versions of Cole Porter songs among others, "Mirame" full of duets with the most important Spanish voices or "Lorquiana", a double CD with popular songs and poems of Federico García Lorca.
The new century finds her busy with filming and recording songs. Albums "Peces de Ciudad" or "Viva L'Italia" are released as she appears on stage plays and her name is on some of the most acclaimed films of the moment.
In 2006, she is currently touring with her husband Víctor Manuel across Spain with "Una Cancion me Trajo Aqui", a CD+DVD has been released of their very first performance in Segovia.She also has a new album in the works and a new movie pending.
Al Despertar
Ana Belén Lyrics
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Una nube gris lo envuelve todo y una fuerza nos empuja
Quiero irme lejos de aquí, donde no deba luchar al despertar.
Donde la mañana huela a tierra y el color fruta madura
Y la madrugada sea un rayo desprendido de luna
Campos de lirios y pan en nuestros cuerpos habrá al despertar.
Una cinta de agua ceñirá mi corazón por la cintura
Seré la vela en el mar o aquella nube al pasar, al despertar.
Desde la raíz del tronco verde hasta el arroyo nos escucha
Cuentan las pisadas vacilantes, las miradas y las dudas
Hojas de hierba, mirad como cimbrea el trigal, al despertar.
Cuando todo aquello que deseas alcanzar se encuentra lejos
Hay algunas veces que apretando bien los ojos tenemos
Los sueños son de cristal y se nos pueden quebrar al despertar.
The lyrics of Ana Belén's song Al Despertar describe the desire to escape from the struggles of everyday life and find a place of peace and freedom. The opening verse talks about the sound of rain on a dark night, and the sense of being trapped by a gray cloud that surrounds everything. The singer wants to go somewhere far away where she won't have to fight to wake up each morning.
The second verse paints a picture of this ideal place - a world where the morning smells of earth and ripe fruit, and the dawn is like a beam of moonlight. The fields are full of lilies, and there is bread for everyone's body. This is a place of freedom - where water flows freely, and there are no restraints on breathing or movement. The singer imagines herself as a sail on the sea or a passing cloud in this idyllic world.
The final verse is a reflection on the difficulty of achieving one's dreams in the real world. Sometimes, we have to close our eyes tightly and hold on to our dreams as if they were made of glass, fragile and easily broken when we wake up. The song ends with a celebration of nature's beauty, and the way it can provide a sense of peace and wonder even in the midst of all our troubles.
Line by Line Meaning
Como cada noche tintinea en el cristal la lluvia oscura
Just like every night, the sound of dark rain tinkles on the glass
Una nube gris lo envuelve todo y una fuerza nos empuja
A gray cloud envelops everything and a force pushes us
Quiero irme lejos de aquí, donde no deba luchar al despertar.
I want to go far away from here, where I don't have to fight to wake up
Donde la mañana huela a tierra y el color fruta madura
Where the morning smells like earth and the color of ripe fruit
Y la madrugada sea un rayo desprendido de luna
And dawn is a ray of moonlight detached from the moon
Campos de lirios y pan en nuestros cuerpos habrá al despertar.
Fields of lilies and bread will be in our bodies when we wake up
Donde el manantial en libertad y el respirar sin ataduras
Where the spring flows freely and breathing is without restraints
Una cinta de agua ceñirá mi corazón por la cintura
A ribbon of water will cinch my heart by the waist
Seré la vela en el mar o aquella nube al pasar, al despertar.
I will be the candle on the sea or that passing cloud when I wake up
Desde la raíz del tronco verde hasta el arroyo nos escucha
From the root of the green trunk to the stream, it listens to us
Cuentan las pisadas vacilantes, las miradas y las dudas
They tell of the hesitant footsteps, the looks, and the doubts
Hojas de hierba, mirad como cimbrea el trigal, al despertar.
Grass blades, look how the wheat sways when we wake up
Cuando todo aquello que deseas alcanzar se encuentra lejos
When everything you want to reach is far away
Hay algunas veces que apretando bien los ojos tenemos
Sometimes by squeezing our eyes shut tightly
Los sueños son de cristal y se nos pueden quebrar al despertar.
Dreams are made of glass and can break when we wake up
Contributed by Nathaniel A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jean
on Nana de Sevilla
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