Yupanqui was born Héctor Roberto Chavero Haram in Pergamino (Buenos Aires Province), in the Argentine pampas, about 200 kilometers away from Buenos Aires. His family moved to Tucumán when he was ten. In a bow to two legendary Incan kings, he adopted the stage name Atahualpa Yupanqui, which became famous the world over.
In his early years, Yupanqui travelled extensively through the northwest of Argentina and the Altiplano studying the indigenous culture. He also became radicalized and joined the Communist Party of Argentina. In 1931, he took part in the failed uprising of the Kennedy brothers and was forced to seek refuge in Uruguay. He returned to Argentina in 1934.
In 1935, Yupanqui paid his first visit to Buenos Aires; his compositions were growing in popularity, and he was invited to perform on the radio. Shortly thereafter, he made the acquaintance of pianist Antonieta Paula Pepin Fitzpatrick, nicknamed "Nenette", who became his lifelong companion and musical collaborator under the pseudonym "Pablo Del Cerro".
Because of his Communist Party affiliation (which lasted until 1952), his work suffered from censorship during Juan Perón's presidency; he was detained and incarcerated several times. He left for Europe in 1949. Édith Piaf invited him to perform in Paris in June of that year. He subsequently toured extensively throughout Europe.
In 1952, Yupanqui returned to Buenos Aires. He broke with the Communist Party, which made it easier for him to book radio performances.
Recognition of Yupanqui's ethnographic work became widespread during the 1960s, and nueva canción artists such as Mercedes Sosa recorded his compositions and made him popular among the younger musicians, who referred to him as Don Ata.
Yupanqui alternated between houses in Buenos Aires and Cerro Colorado, Córdoba province. During 1963-1964, he toured Colombia, Japan, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, and Italy. In 1967, he toured Spain, and settled in Paris. He returned regularly to Argentina, but these visits became less frequent when the military dictatorship of Jorge Videla came to power in 1976.
Yupanqui died in Nimes, France in 1992 at the age of 84; he was buried in the Cerro Colorado Cementery.
De Tanto Dir y Venir
Atahualpa Yupanqui Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
abrí mi huella en el campo.
Para el que después anduvo
ya fue camino liviano.
En infinitos andares
fui la gramilla pisando.
Raspé mí poncho en los talas.
Las huellas no se hacen solas
ni con sólo el ir pisando.
Hay que rondar madrugadas
maduras en sueño y llanto.
Viento de injustas arenas
fueron mi huella tapando.
Lo que antes fue clara senda
se enyenó de espina y barro.
Parece que no hubo nada
si se mira sin mirarlo.
Todo es malezal confuso,
pero mi huella está abajo.
Desparejo es el camino.
Hoy ando senderos ásperos.
Piso la espina que hiere,
pero mi huella está abajo,
Tal vez un día la limpien
los que sueñan caminando.
Yo les daré, desde lejos
mi corazón de regalo.
In Atahualpa Yupanqui's song De Tanto Dir y Venir, the singer reflects upon their journey and the path that they have carved out for themselves in life. The lyrics begin with the idea that through the singer's constant comings and goings, they have opened up their own path through the field. This path that they have created may be easy for those who come after them to tread upon. The singer then goes on to describe the many different places they have traveled, noting the trials and tribulations along the way.
The second stanza speaks to the difficulty in creating one's own path rather than following one that already exists. The singer acknowledges that creating a trail takes more than just walking and stepping, it requires devotion, sacrifice and passion. Next, Yupanqui describes how the wind has covered up some of the tracks that the singer has left behind, and how what was once a clear path has become overgrown with thorns and mud. The singer then reflects that although to someone who just glances over it, the path may seem chaotic, the track still exists for those who are willing to look closer.
Line by Line Meaning
De tanto dir y venir
After going back and forth so many times
abrí mi huella en el campo.
I created my own path in the countryside.
Para el que después anduvo
For those who walked afterwards
ya fue camino liviano.
The path was already smooth and easy for them to walk.
En infinitos andares
In countless steps
fui la gramilla pisando.
I was walking on the grass.
Raspé mí poncho en los talas.
I scraped my poncho on the thistles.
Me hirieron pinchos de cardo.
The thorn of the cardoon pierced me.
Las huellas no se hacen solas
Footprints are not made alone
ni con sólo el ir pisando.
Not just by walking forward.
Hay que rondar madrugadas
One must wander dawn
maduras en sueño y llanto.
Mature in sleep and tears.
Viento de injustas arenas
Wind of unjust sands
fueron mi huella tapando.
Covered my footprints.
Lo que antes fue clara senda
What was once a clear path
se enyenó de espina y barro.
Filled with thorns and mud.
Parece que no hubo nada
It seems like there was nothing
si se mira sin mirarlo.
If you look without really seeing.
Todo es malezal confuso,
Everything is a confusing tangle of weeds,
pero mi huella está abajo.
But my footprint is still there on the ground.
Desparejo es el camino.
The road is uneven.
Hoy ando senderos ásperos.
Today I walk rough paths.
Piso la espina que hiere,
I step on the thorn that hurts
pero mi huella está abajo,
but my footprint is still on the ground,
Tal vez un día la limpien
Maybe one day they will clean it up
los que sueñan caminando.
Those who dream as they walk.
Yo les daré, desde lejos
I will give them, from afar,
mi corazón de regalo.
My heart as a gift.
Writer(s): Pablo Del Cerro, Atahualpa Yupanqui
Contributed by Jasmine K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@rodrigoivangloriapardo2397
Bellismo!
@miguelmutvicens7744
Si en les meves man's etigera la posiblitat de allargar la vida de segur que aquest home. Li la donava.