Biography
María Isabel Granda Larco was born on 3 September 1920, in a copper mining area in the region of Apurímac. She began singing at 12 years old, in the school choir at the exclusive girl's school Colegio Sophianum, in San Isidro. At this age she sang as a soprano (an operation later gave her the deep voice for which she is remembered). However, she wasn't well known until after her divorce, a scandal in contemporary Lima's conservative Catholic society.
Early in her career her work was expressive and picturesque – evoking the romantic and beautiful neighborhood of Barranco in Lima, with its grand French houses with impressive entrances and winter gardens. Some of her most famous songs from this period are "Lima de Veras", "La flor de la Canela", "Fina Estampa", "Gracia", "José Antonio", and "Zeñó Manué", to name a few. She broke the conventional rhythmic structure of the waltz, later broke convention with her poetic cadences as well. Later in her career she wrote songs dedicated to the Chilean Violeta Parra and to Javier Heraud, a Peruvian poet who died in 1968.
Towards the end of her career, Chabuca Granda incorporated Afro-Peruvian rhythms into her work. Afro-Peruvian music, while popular, was not considered "high art" due to the prevalent racism and devaluation of Afro-Peruvian culture. She masterfully blended the suggestive and colorful rhythms into her work, enriching Peruvian popular music.
She died of heart problems in a clinic in Miami, in the United States, in 1983. Her voice and compositions are known far from the borders of her country, and her popularity has introduced the world to the fine and sensitive character of Peruvian music.
Chabuca Granda continued to make her presence felt a decade after her death, when Caetano Veloso used her song, "Fina Estampa", as the title track of an album released in 1994, while her song, "Maria Lando", written with Cesar Calvo, provided the North American breakthrough for Peruvian vocalist Susana Baca the following year.
Granda's song "La Flor De La Canela" has become an anthem for the city of Lima. Granda worked with a lengthy list of influential guitarists including Oscar Aviles, Martin Torres, Lucho Gonzalez, Alvaro Lagos, and Felix Casaverde.
El Dueño Ausente
Chabuca Granda Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ingenua niña serrana
La de mejillas de rosa
Y largas trenzas endrinas
De tu techo colorado
Engastado a tus montañas
¿Qué ilusiones te arrancaron, bajando
De esa, tu altiva montaña?
Tu dueño sirve a la patria
Y te dejó a tu cuidado
Su maicito y los trigales
Y la quinua ya sembrada
En su tierrita escondida, al fondo
De una quebrada
Tu dueño ha de reclamarte
Después del tiempo cumplido
Su maicito y los trigales
Y la quinua ya sembrada
En su tierrita escondida
Al fondo de una quebrada
Paisana de mis alturas
Si tú, como la retama
Floreces en las quebradas
Y en la costa no hay tu mata
La rosa de tus mejillas
Se está poniendo azafrana
Vete cuanto antes, paisana
Vuelve, sube a tu altiva montaña
Tu dueño sirve a la patria
Y te dejó a tu cuidado
Su maicito y los trigales
Y la quinua ya sembrada
En su tierrita escondida, al fondo
De una quebrada, ay
Tu dueño ha de reclamarte
Después del tiempo cumplido
Su maicito y los trigales
Y la quinua ya sembrada
En su tierrita escondida
Al fondo de una quebrada
In "El Dueño Ausente," Chabuca Granda sings of a young woman from the Andes Mountains, who is left in charge of her owner's crops while he serves his country. The song is a poignant reflection on the loneliness and isolation experienced by those who are left behind when loved ones go off to fight in war. The young woman's owner, like many other men of his generation, is called upon to serve his country, leaving her to tend to his crops and the land he loves. The song suggests that the young woman is torn between her loyalty to her owner and her deep longing to return to her home in the mountains.
At the heart of the song is the idea that the land is a source of sustenance and identity for those who live on it. The young woman is deeply connected to the land and the mountains that surround her, and she longs to return to them. The song suggests that the land has a powerful hold on its people, and that it is a source of strength and resilience in times of hardship.
Overall, "El Dueño Ausente" is a powerful reflection on the enduring ties that connect people to the land, and on the sacrifices made by those who fight to protect their home and their way of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Paisana de mis alturas
O country girl from the highlands,
Ingenua niña serrana
Innocent mountain girl,
La de mejillas de rosa
With cheeks as red as roses,
Y largas trenzas endrinas
And long blackberry-colored braids,
De tu techo colorado
From your red-roofed home,
Engastado a tus montañas
Nestled in the mountains,
¿Qué ilusiones te arrancaron, bajando
What hopes were taken away from you when you came down
De esa, tu altiva montaña?
From that proud mountain of yours?
Tu dueño sirve a la patria
Your owner serves the country
Y te dejó a tu cuidado
And left you in charge
Su maicito y los trigales
His corn and wheat fields
Y la quinua ya sembrada
And the already-planted quinoa
En su tierrita escondida, al fondo
In his hidden land, deep down
De una quebrada
In the ravine
Tu dueño ha de reclamarte
Your owner will come and claim you
Después del tiempo cumplido
After his time is up
Su maicito y los trigales
His corn and wheat fields
Y la quinua ya sembrada
And the already-planted quinoa
En su tierrita escondida
In his hidden land
Al fondo de una quebrada
Deep down in a ravine
Si tú, como la retama
If you, like the broom bush
Floreces en las quebradas
Flourish in the ravines
Y en la costa no hay tu mata
And your plant doesn't grow on the coast
La rosa de tus mejillas
The rose of your cheeks
Se está poniendo azafrana
Is turning saffron-colored
Vete cuanto antes, paisana
Leave as soon as possible, country girl
Vuelve, sube a tu altiva montaña
Come back, go back up to your proud mountain
Ay
Oh
Writer(s): Isabel Granda Y Larco, Chabuca Granda
Contributed by Riley O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Solo Peru
Una de las canciones mas sutilmente racistas de chabuca, basada en los Avelinos los Montoneros de Caceres , la mayoria campesinos de la sierra que servian al ejercito y dejaban sus tierras y a la esposa que finalmente migraba a la costa, en una parte de la cancion le dice
Paisana de mis alturas,
si tú, como la retama,
floreces en la quebrada
y en la costa no hay tu mata, (osea aqui en la costa no estan tus racices, tu no eres de aqui)
....Luego dice
la rosa de tus mejillas
se está poniendo azafrana
vete cuanto antes paisana
vuelve sube a tu altiva montaña. (esto es algo asi cuando dice regresa a la sierra chola de m...)
Cristian Martin
Se me hace nudo a la garganta, no puedo aguantar las lagrimas , soy un peruano y conozco todo el Perú y esto recordar cada metro q voy avanzando, cada pueblo q voy pisando, su gente, sus paisajes, los andes, desiertos , la selva: Como te amo Perú
Rolph W Artieda
Resiliencia, seria una palabra para definir al peruano, ese que no se rinde, el que es solidario "Hoy por ti, mañana por mi" tiene origen en los ayllus del norte; solidaridad con responsabilidad
Aurelia Pinto
Sí, soy española y amo a Perú ❤
Dentro de dos años iré a Perú y estoy muy feliz de ver todo Perú❤🤍❤️
Camilo Torres
Hermosa música, Chabuca parece que es el espíritu peruano, la voz del Perú, saludos de un colombiano que ha aprendido a querer al Perú a través de la música de Chabuca .
Vilma Happy Gutt
Que sentimiento que pureza de cancion.
Marcela Casani Vilca
Les juro que me a emocionado en lo mas profundo y unas lagrimas han llenado mis ojos. hermoso video
Camilo Torres
No eres el unico, me pasa lo mismo con la música de Chabuca.
Rolph W Artieda
Esta proclamacion debe ser leida por todos los peruanos, que sepan todas las motivaciones que inspiraron a Chabuca, corresponde dar homnaje a quien siempre busco amalgamar la identidad de la peruanidad. Feliz 28
ROSARIO CONTRERAS VIZCARDO
HERMOSA CANCIÓN. BRAVO CHABUCA UNA PERUANA QUE NOS REPRESENTO Y SIGUE REPRESENTANDO AL PERU. HOY CUMPLE 100 AÑOS.
Angelita Salazar Barturen
La canción más linda ,no puede haber otra igual ,cuando la escucho me da nostalgia,conosco parte de la Sierra de Santa Cruz Cajamarca,es una belleza👍👍👍👍👏👏👏🌟🌟💯💯💯💯❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️