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.
La pobrecita
Atahualpa Yupanqui Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
porque esto zamba nació en los campos.
Con una guitarra mal encordada
la cantan siempre los tucumanos.
Allá en los cañaverales
cuando lo noche viene llegando.
Por entre los surcos se ven de lejos
Solsito del camino.
Lunita de mis pagos.
En la pobrecita zamba del surco
cantan sus penas los tucumanos...
Mi zamba no canta dichas,
solo pesares tiene el paisano.
Con las hilachitas de una esperanza
forman sus sueños los tucumanos.
Conozco la triste pena
de las ausencias y del mal pago.
En mi noche larga prenden sus fuegos
los tucu-tucus del desengaño.
Solsito, del camino.
Lunita de mis pagos.
En la pobrecita zamba del surco,
cantan sus penas los tucumanos..
The song La Pobrecita by Atahualpa Yupanqui is a very sentimental and melancholic representation of the struggles and hardships of the rural people of Tucumán, Argentina. The character in the song, known as "La Pobrecita" which translates to "The Poor One," is named for the zamba, a traditional Argentinian dance and music, that was created in the fields by the peasants. The song represents the difficult lives of these people, whose sorrow and lamentations are expressed through the music.
The first verse of the song begins by describing the origins of the zamba, birthed from the fields where the people worked tirelessly. The song depicts the peasants singing the zamba with a poorly strung guitar, which serves as a symbolic representation of the poverty and suffering endured by the people. The second verse describes the backdrop of the peasants singing the zamba: toiling away in sugarcane fields, and in the darkness, the glowing cigar embers dotting the landscape.
The refrain of the song speaks to the intimacy and importance of the zamba to the Tucumanos, sung by Yupanqui as a solito del camino and lunita de mis pagos, which means, "Little sun of the road, little moon of my hometown." Clearly, this song is a tribute to the local scene and is a way to let people know how much they are appreciated and loved.
Line by Line Meaning
Le llaman la Pobrecita
They call her the poor girl
porque esto zamba nació en los campos.
because this zamba was born in the fields.
Con una guitarra mal encordada
With a poorly strung guitar
la cantan siempre los tucumanos.
the people of Tucumán always sing it.
Allá en los cañaverales
There in the sugar cane fields
cuando lo noche viene llegando.
when the night is falling.
Por entre los surcos se ven de lejos
From among the furrows, they can be seen from far away
los tucu-tucus de los cigarros.
the flickering of cigarillos.
Solsito del camino.
Little sun of the road.
Lunita de mis pagos.
Little moon of my homelands.
En la pobrecita zamba del surco
In the poor zamba of the furrow
cantan sus penas los tucumanos...
the people of Tucumán sing their sorrows.
Mi zamba no canta dichas,
My zamba doesn't sing joys
solo pesares tiene el paisano.
only sorrows are for the countryman.
Con las hilachitas de una esperanza
With small threads of hope
forman sus sueños los tucumanos.
the people of Tucumán form their dreams.
Conozco la triste pena
I know the sad pain
de las ausencias y del mal pago.
of absences and bad pay.
En mi noche larga prenden sus fuegos
In my long night, they light their fires
los tucu-tucus del desengaño.
the flickering of disillusionment.
Solsito, del camino.
Little sun of the road.
Lunita de mis pagos.
Little moon of my homelands.
En la pobrecita zamba del surco,
In the poor zamba of the furrow,
cantan sus penas los tucumanos...
the people of Tucumán sing their sorrows.
Contributed by Lucas B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Pedro Nel Pico
Inmortal es Atahualpa Yupanqui como su alma y sus canciones que por siempre están grabadas en el espíritu del pueblo.
J C Rojas
Calidad Don Héctor 👌🏻
Superficies Culturales
Yupanqui debe aprenderse desde la escuela. ❤
Sebastian Coolen
procer, extrañamos tu dulce mùsica, maestro.
Jose Dalmacio Artaza
Viejo genio
walter gonzalez
Si esto no es una zamba, la zamba,¿Dónde está?
Kalado Adonai
Legaliza 🌿 🌱🌿
amaro loyola
La pampa hablando....
Abel Sanabria
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