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 currucha
Cecilia Todd Lyrics
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Más que a la cotiza que llevo en el pie.
A mi negra la quiero y la quiero
Más que a la tinaja cuando tengo sed.
A mi negra la quiero y la quiero
Más que a mi chinchorro que me hace soñar,
Más que al penco alazán que en el pueblo
Mil lazos coleando me ha hecho ganar.
Cuando baila mi negra un joropo
A mí me zapatea por dentro de mí,
Al compás de puntera y talón,
Y al compás de la quirpa sin fin
Con qué gracia menea la cadera
Mi negra que me hace perder la razón,
Currucha, con qué gracia menea la cadera,
Ay, mi negra que me hace perder la razón.
Si a mi negra la miro en los ojos
Se pone más roja que el paraguatá
Cuya flor es incendio del bosque,
Y está haciendo abeja licor de panal.
Si me rozo con ella en el baile
Me sube al cogote un inmenso calor
Pues su hornalla y trapicha es mi negra
Que vuelve ceniza mi leño de amor.
The song "El Curruchá" by Cecilia Todd is a heartfelt tribute to the singer's beloved "negra," a term of endearment that refers to her black partner. The lyrics express Todd's deep and abiding love for her partner, a love that surpasses even the material possessions she values, such as her "cotiza" (anklet), her "tinaja" (water jug), and her "chinchorro" (hammock). Todd's admiration for her partner's grace and beauty is evident when she describes how her negra's dancing makes her "zapatear por dentro" (stomp inside her) and how her negra's "gracia" (grace) when she "menea la cadera" (sways her hips) fills her with uncontrollable passion.
The song is also full of rich imagery that conveys the intensity of Todd's feelings. She compares her negra's blushing face to the fiery red flowers of the "paraguatá" plant, which are known for their ability to ignite forest fires. She describes the sensation of dancing with her partner as a kind of physical furnace, with her negra as the "hornalla" (stove) and "trapicha" (sugar mill) that turn her "leño de amor" (log of love) into ashes. The song thus celebrates not only the joy and beauty of love but also its transformative power and its capacity to consume and renew.
Line by Line Meaning
A mi negra la quiero y la quiero
Más que a la cotiza que llevo en el pie.
I love my dark-skinned girl more than I love the money I have in my pockets.
A mi negra la quiero y la quiero
Más que a la tinaja cuando tengo sed.
I love my dark-skinned girl more than I love the water when I'm thirsty.
A mi negra la quiero y la quiero
Más que a mi chinchorro que me hace soñar,
Más que al penco alazán que en el pueblo
Mil lazos coleando me ha hecho ganar.
I love my dark-skinned girl more than I love my hammock that lets me dream, and more than the horse that has led me to victory in countless rodeos.
Cuando baila mi negra un joropo
A mí me zapatea por dentro de mí,
Al compás de puntera y talón,
Y al compás de la quirpa sin fin
When my dark-skinned girl dances a joropo, it feels like she's tapping a rhythm deep within me, to the sound of her heels and toes, and the endless loop of the quirpa.
Con qué gracia menea la cadera
Mi negra que me hace perder la razón,
Currucha, con qué gracia menea la cadera,
Ay, mi negra que me hace perder la razón.
My dark-skinned girl moves her hips with such grace that it drives me crazy, and makes me lose all reason. Oh, currucha, when she moves her hips like that, my mind is blown away.
Si a mi negra la miro en los ojos
Se pone más roja que el paraguatá
Cuya flor es incendio del bosque,
Y está haciendo abeja licor de panal.
If I look into my dark-skinned girl's eyes, she blushes like the Paraguay lily, whose flowers set the forest ablaze, and she becomes as sweet as honeycomb nectar.
Si me rozo con ella en el baile
Me sube al cogote un inmenso calor
Pues su hornalla y trapicha es mi negra
Que vuelve ceniza mi leño de amor.
Whenever I brush against her on the dance floor, my body fills up with heat, like she's the stove and the sugar mill of my love, that reduces my heart to ashes.
Contributed by Isabella N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.