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.
Nocturnos de la Ventana
Ana Belén Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hoy una niña de agua
Está fuera del estanque
Sobre el suelo amortajada
Está fuera del estanque
Sobre el suelo amortajada
Un pez la cruza, llamándola
El viento le dice "niña"
Mas no puede despertarla
El viento le dice "niña"
Mas no puede despertarla
El estanque tiene suelta
Su cabellera de algas
Y al aire sus grises tetas
Estremecidas de ranas
Y al aire sus grises tetas
Estremecidas de ranas
Dios te salve, rezaremos
A Nuestra Señora de Agua
Por la niña del estanque
Muerta bajo las manzanas
Por la niña del estanque
Muerta bajo las manzanas
Yo luego pondré a su lado
Dos pequeñas calabazas
Para que se tenga a flote
¡Ay! Sobre la mar salada
Para que se tenga a flote
¡Ay! Sobre la mar salada
The lyrics to Ana Belén's song Nocturnos de la Ventana tell a story of a young girl who has drowned in a pond. The somber opening lines reveal the tragedy that has occurred: "Today a water girl has died in the pond, she is laid out on the ground." The following lines paint a vivid image of the girl's lifeless body and the eerie, otherworldly atmosphere surrounding her: "From her head to her thighs, a fish crosses her, calling her. The wind speaks to her, 'girl,' but cannot wake her." Throughout the song, the pond and its surroundings are described in haunting detail: "The pond lets its hair of seaweed loose, and its grey breasts tremble with frogs."
Despite the mournful tone of the song, there is a sense of respect and ritual in the singer's actions. They invoke the protection of "Our Lady of Water" to watch over the dead girl's spirit, and plan to place two small pumpkins by her side to help her float on the "salty sea." The song ends on this somber note, with the repetition of the last lines driving home the weight of the tragedy: "For the girl in the pond, dead under the apples. For the girl in the pond, dead under the apples."
Overall, Ana Belén's Nocturnos de la Ventana is a hauntingly beautiful song that tells a story of loss and reverence in the face of tragedy.
Line by Line Meaning
Al estanque se le ha muerto
A girl drowned in the pond
Hoy una niña de agua
Today, a water girl
Está fuera del estanque
She's out of the pond
Sobre el suelo amortajada
Wrapped in a shroud on the ground
De la cabeza a sus muslos
From her head to her thighs
Un pez la cruza, llamándola
A fish swims across her, calling her
El viento le dice 'niña'
The wind says 'girl'
Mas no puede despertarla
But he can't wake her up
El estanque tiene suelta
The pond has let go
Su cabellera de algas
Her hair made of algae
Y al aire sus grises tetas
And in the air her gray tits
Estremecidas de ranas
Trembling from the frogs
Dios te salve, rezaremos
God bless you, we will pray
A Nuestra Señora de Agua
To Our Lady of Water
Por la niña del estanque
For the girl in the pond
Muerta bajo las manzanas
Dead under the apples
Yo luego pondré a su lado
I will place by her side
Dos pequeñas calabazas
Two small pumpkins
Para que se tenga a flote
So she can float
¡Ay! Sobre la mar salada
Oh! On the salty sea
Writer(s): Federico Garcia Lorca, Pedro Manuel Guerra Mansito
Contributed by Carter E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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