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.
Mar Y Luna
Ana Belén Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Amaron el amor urgente
las bocas saladas por la marejada
las costas dañadas por las tempestades
en aquella ciudad tan distante del mar.
Amaron el amor sereno
de nocturnas playas
y se emborrachaban de felicidad
en aquella ciudad sin brillo lunar.
Amaron el amor prohibido
pues hoy es sabido
todo el mundo cuenta
que una iba preñada
con hambre de luna
y otra iba desnuda
ávida de mar.
Y fueron quedando marcadas
oyendo las risas temblando de frío
mirando hacia el río
tan lleno de luna
y que continúa
corriendo hacia el mar.
Y fueron corriente abajo
rodando en el lecho
tragándose el agua
flotando con algas
arrastrando hojas
cargando con flores
hasta naufragar.
Se fueron volviendo peces
volviendo conchas
volviendo piedras
volviendo arena
plateada arena
con luna llena
cerca del mar.
The song Mar Y Luna by Ana Belén, featuring Chico Buarque, is a narrative of multiple love stories that took place in a city, far from the sea but surrounded by nocturnal beaches. The lyrics describe the different types of love people fell into, such as the love fueled by urgency, serenity, and even prohibition. Despite having different natures, all the relationships seemed to have one thing in common - they left their mark, and the people involved were never the same again.
The final verses of the song describe how these people, marked forever by their past love stories, ended up becoming a part of the river that flowed from the city towards the sea. They were carried away by the water, their bodies turned into fish, shells, stones, and even silver sand that shone with the light of the full moon. The song paints a poignant picture of love, both its beauty and its melancholy.
Overall, the song is a beautiful depiction of the complexity of human relationships, how they shape us, and how they become a part of us even after they're gone.
Line by Line Meaning
Amaron el amor urgente
They loved urgent love
las bocas saladas por la marejada
their mouths salty from the waves
las costas dañadas por las tempestades
the coasts damaged by the storms
en aquella ciudad tan distante del mar.
in that city far from the sea.
Amaron el amor sereno
They loved calm love
de nocturnas playas
from nighttime beaches
alzaban las faldas
lifting their skirts
y se emborrachaban de felicidad
and getting drunk on happiness
en aquella ciudad sin brillo lunar.
in that city without a moonlight shine.
Amaron el amor prohibido
They loved forbidden love
pues hoy es sabido
as it is known today
todo el mundo cuenta
everybody tells
que una iba preñada
that one was heavily pregnant
con hambre de luna
with hunger for the moon
y otra iba desnuda
and the other was naked
ávida de mar.
eager for the sea.
Y fueron quedando marcadas
And they were marked
oyendo las risas temblando de frío
hearing the laughter trembling from the cold
mirando hacia el río
looking towards the river
tan lleno de luna
so full of moon
y que continúa
and still continues
corriendo hacia el mar.
running towards the sea.
Y fueron corriente abajo
And they went downstream
rodando en el lecho
rolling on the riverbed
tragándose el agua
swallowing the water
flotando con algas
floating with seaweed
arrastrando hojas
dragging leaves
cargando con flores
carrying flowers
hasta naufragar.
until they sank.
Se fueron volviendo peces
They turned into fish
volviendo conchas
turning into shells
volviendo piedras
turning into stones
volviendo arena
turning into sand
plateada arena
silvery sand
con luna llena
with full moon
cerca del mar.
near the sea.
Contributed by Isabelle D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@carolinaaliaga9778
Nunca había escuchado esta canción..tiene una hermosa poesía, llena de metáforas, con un gran dejo de nostalgia...una creación musical preciosa y, dos grandes intérpretes!!!
@susanaandress4653
No conocía este dueto...belleza delicada con esas voces tan del corazón ♥
@UnNombreExpectacular
Delicada obra de arte.