From very young the love of music, initially fed by her family group, awakened in Cecilia. At the age of 12, she integrated a musical trio at the school San José de Tarbes, and her activity as singer and collaborator were recognized early. Later she was a member of the group of Alberto Espinoza soon to begin to his own career as a solo singer. She attended his sessions of theory and solfege at the music school Juan Manuel Olivares and continued later as a disciple of Alexander Plaza in the study of guitar.
In 1970 as a member of the group, Venezuelan Experimental Music, she made her first public presentations. Her debut as a solo singer occurred on TV, in the program El Show de Renny Ottolina. In 1972 Cecilia was invited to participate in an encounter of Latin American music organized by the University of Carlton, which allowed her to give several concerts in Canada. As of this date she has toured in many countries (Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Spain, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, USA, Syria, Brazil, UK, Barbados, Finland, France, Germany, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, etc...) and has participated in numerous musical recordings, and by invitation in groups of musicians and artists such as Cacho Tirao, Grupo Vocal Buenos Aires 8, Soledad Bravo, Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Libertad Lamarque, Carlos Cruz-Diez, among others.
She has recorded many albums of Venezuelan folk music, and participated in two films, with brief participation in international television. Some of Cecilia's popular CD recordings are "Una Sola Vida Tengo" from 1995, and "Canciones de Henry Martinez" in 2000. Cecilia's 2009 CD recording is entitled "Niño Jesús de Merey", and is a celebration of Venezuelan musical Christmas traditions. One of the songs was composed by Cecilia and is her debut as a composer. Her current touring band (2009) is Jesús "Chuíto" Rengel on mandolin and bandola, Mark P. Brown on bass and saxophone, and Leonel Ruiz on Piano.
El Norte Es Una Quimera
Cecilia Todd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
En busca de unos centavos
Y he regresado a Caracas como fuete de arrear pavos
El Norte es una quimera
Qué atrocidad
Y dicen que allá se vive
Como un pachá
Me fui para Nueva York
En busca de unos centavos
Y he regresado a Caracas como fuete de arrear pavos
El Norte es una quimera
Qué atrocidad
Y dicen que allá se vive
Como un pachá
Ay, Nueva York, no me halagas con el oro
Tu ley seca la rechazo, no me agrada y la deploro
A Nueva York, yo más, no voy
Allá no hay berro, no hay vino y no hay amor
Ay, Nueva York, no me halagas con el oro
Tu ley seca la rechazo, no me agrada y la deploro
A Nueva York, yo más, no voy
Allá no hay berro, no hay vino y no hay amor
Todo el que va a Nueva York
Se vuelve tan embustero
Que, si allá lavaba platos, dice aquí que era platero
Y el Norte es una quimera
Qué atrocidad
Y dicen que allá se vive
Como un pachá
Todo el que va a Nueva York
Se vuelve tan embustero
Que, si allá lavaba platos, dice aquí que era platero
Y el Norte es una quimera
Qué atrocidad
Y dicen que allá se vive
Como un pachá
Ay, Nueva York, no me halagas con el oro
Tu ley seca la rechazo, no me agrada y la deploro
A Nueva York, yo más, no voy
Allá no hay vino, no hay berro y no hay amor
Ay, Nueva York, no me halagas con el oro
Tu ley seca la rechazo, no me agrada y la deploro
A Nueva York, yo más, no voy
Allá no hay berro, no hay vino y no hay amor
No vuelvo pa′ Nueva York
Lo juro por San Andrés
No me gusta hablar inglés ni montar en ascensor
El Norte es una quimera
Qué atrocidad
Y dicen que allá se vive
Como un pachá
No vuelvo pa' Nueva York
Lo juro por San Andrés
No me gusta hablar inglés ni montar en ascensor
El Norte es una quimera
Qué atrocidad
Y dicen que allá se vive
Como un pachá
Ay, Nueva York, no me halagas con el oro
Tu ley seca la rechazo, no me agrada y la deploro
A Nueva York, yo más, no voy
Allá no hay berro, no hay vino y no hay amor
Ay, Nueva York, no me halagas con el oro
Tu ley seca la rechazo, no me agrada y la deploro
A Nueva York, yo más, no voy
Allá no hay berros, no hay vino y no hay amor
¡Gracias!
¡Gracias!
¡Muchas gracias!
¡Gracias!
The song "El Norte Es Una Quimera" by Cecilia Todd is about the artist's experience of traveling to New York in search of money and how she ultimately came to realize that the idea of the "American Dream" is a myth. The opening lines depict her leaving for New York in search of a better life, but upon her return to Caracas, she feels like she has been used as a tool for hard labor, as if she were a whip used to herd turkeys.
Todd goes on to describe how the American Dream is misrepresented and that people believe that life in the U.S. is easy and luxurious. She sings that the North is a chimera, a fantasy that is impossible to attain. The artist believes that the American way of life is intimidating, and their laws, like the prohibition of alcohol, are harsh and unacceptable to her. Todd also sings that there is no love, wine or cress in New York.
The artist highlights how people, on returning home from New York, tend to exaggerate their experiences, claiming to have had much higher-level and better-paid jobs, just to feel special. Todd concludes saying that she has no desire to return to New York, she dislikes speaking English and taking elevators, preferring the familiarity of home. The song is a reflection on the experience of many immigrants who leave their homeland in search of a better life in developed countries only to find that the ideal is often a myth.
Line by Line Meaning
Me fui para Nueva York
I left for New York
En busca de unos centavos
In search of some pennies
Y he regresado a Caracas como fuete de arrear pavos
And I have returned to Caracas like a whip to drive turkeys
El Norte es una quimera
The North is a chimera
Qué atrocidad
What an atrocity
Y dicen que allá se vive como un pachá
And they say that over there you live like a pasha
Ay, Nueva York, no me halagas con el oro
Oh, New York, don't flatter me with gold
Tu ley seca la rechazo, no me agrada y la deploro
Your dry law I reject, I don't like it and I deplore it
A Nueva York, yo más, no voy
To New York, I won't go anymore
Allá no hay berro, no hay vino y no hay amor
There's no watercress, no wine, and no love over there
Todo el que va a Nueva York se vuelve tan embustero
Everyone who goes to New York becomes so full of lies
Que, si allá lavaba platos, dice aquí que era platero
That if they were washing dishes over there, they say here they were a silversmith
No vuelvo pa′ Nueva York
I won't return to New York
Lo juro por San Andrés
I swear by Saint Andrew
No me gusta hablar inglés ni montar en ascensor
I don't like speaking English or riding elevators
¡Gracias!
Thank you!
¡Gracias!
Thank you!
¡Muchas gracias!
Thank you very much!
¡Gracias!
Thank you!
Writer(s): Luis E. Fragachan
Contributed by Eva M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.