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.
La Flor de la Canela
Chabuca Granda Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Déjame que te diga la gloria
Del ensueño que evoca la memoria
Del viejo puente, del río y la alameda
Déjame que te cuente, limeño
Ahora que aún perfuma el recuerdo
Ahora que aún mece en su sueño
El viejo puente el río y la alameda
Jazmines en el pelo y rosas en la cara
Airosa caminaba la flor de la canela
Derramaba lisura y a su paso dejaba
Aroma de mixtura que en el pecho llevaba
Del puente a la alameda
Menudo pie la lleva
Por la vereda que se estremece
Al ritmo de su cadera
Recogía la risa de la brisa del río
Y al viento la lanzaba del puente a la alameda
Déjame que te cuente, limeño ¡ay!
Deja que te diga moreno mi pensamiento
A ver si así despiertas del sueño
Del sueño que entretiene, moreno
Tus sentimientos
Aspiras de la lisura
Que da la flor de canela
Adornada con jazmines
Matizando tu hermosura
Alfombras de nuevo el puente
Y engalanas la alameda
que el río acompasara tu paso por la vereda
Y recuerda que, jazmines en el pelo y rosas en la cara
Airosa caminaba la flor de la canela
Derramaba lisura y a su paso dejaba
Aroma de mixtura que en el pecho llevaba
Del puente a la alameda
Menudo pie la lleva
Por la vereda que se estremece
Al ritmo de su cadera
Recogía la risa de la brisa del río
Y al viento la lanzaba del puente a la alameda
In "La Flor de la Canela", the singer Chabuca Granda and guitarist Oscar Avilés pay homage to the beauty of Lima, Peru, through the image of a woman walking from the old bridge to the alameda (a tree-lined avenue) with a mix of jasmine and cinnamon in her hair. The song begins with the singer addressing a Limeño (a resident of Lima) and asking to tell him about the memory of the old bridge and the river that still perfumes the air. The main character, the "Flower of the Cinnamon", is described as an elegant and beautiful woman who exudes a mix of cinnamon and jasmine as she walks through the streets of Lima. Her rhythmic steps match the melody and the rhythm of the song, making the city come to life.
The lyrics describe how the flower moves from the bridge to the alameda, leaving an aroma behind her that encapsulates what it feels like to be alive in Lima. Interestingly, the "Flower of the Cinnamon" is not a real person, but an imaginary figure created by Chabuca Granda to represent the city's uniqueness and beauty. Thus, the song becomes a tribute to her hometown, an embodiment of her love and admiration for it.
Line by Line Meaning
Déjame que te cuente, limeño
Let me tell you, limeño
Déjame que te diga la gloria
Let me tell you about the glory
Del ensueño que evoca la memoria
Of the dream that evokes the memory
Del viejo puente, del río y la alameda
Of the old bridge, the river, and the alameda
Déjame que te cuente, limeño
Let me tell you, limeño
Ahora que aún perfuma el recuerdo
Now that the memory still smells
Ahora que aún mece en su sueño
Now that it still rocks in its dream
El viejo puente el río y la alameda
The old bridge, the river, and the alameda
Jazmines en el pelo y rosas en la cara
Jasmines in her hair and roses on her face
Airosa caminaba la flor de la canela
Gracefully walked the flower of the cinnamon
Derramaba lisura y a su paso dejaba
Spread smoothness and left in her wake
Aroma de mixtura que en el pecho llevaba
A mix of fragrances that she carried in her chest
Del puente a la alameda
From the bridge to the alameda
Menudo pie la lleva
Small feet carry her
Por la vereda que se estremece
On the path that trembles
Al ritmo de su cadera
To the rhythm of her hips
Recogía la risa de la brisa del río
She collected the laughter of the river breeze
Y al viento la lanzaba del puente a la alameda
And threw it to the wind from the bridge to the alameda
Déjame que te cuente, limeño ¡ay!
Let me tell you, limeño ay!
Deja que te diga moreno mi pensamiento
Let me tell you, dark-skinned, my thoughts
A ver si así despiertas del sueño
To see if you awaken from the dream
Del sueño que entretiene, moreno
From the dream that entertains you, dark-skinned
Tus sentimientos
Your feelings
Aspiras de la lisura
You aspire to the smoothness
Que da la flor de canela
Given by the flower of cinnamon
Adornada con jazmines
Adorned with jasmines
Matizando tu hermosura
Enhancing your beauty
Alfombras de nuevo el puente
The bridge is once again carpeted
Y engalanas la alameda
And you embellish the alameda
Que el río acompasara tu paso por la vereda
That the river keeps pace with your step on the path
Y recuerda que, jazmines en el pelo y rosas en la cara
And remember, jasmines in her hair and roses on her face
Airosa caminaba la flor de la canela
Gracefully walked the flower of the cinnamon
Derramaba lisura y a su paso dejaba
Spread smoothness and left in her wake
Aroma de mixtura que en el pecho llevaba
A mix of fragrances that she carried in her chest
Del puente a la alameda
From the bridge to the alameda
Menudo pie la lleva
Small feet carry her
Por la vereda que se estremece
On the path that trembles
Al ritmo de su cadera
To the rhythm of her hips
Recogía la risa de la brisa del río
She collected the laughter of the river breeze
Y al viento la lanzaba del puente a la alameda
And threw it to the wind from the bridge to the alameda
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Maria Isabel Granda Larco
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fredytrujillo9900
Soy Colombiano, conozco bien el Perú y me enamoré tanto de su música, que interpreto tocando las cucharas. Tuve la fortuna histórica de conocer personalmente a chabuca .
@pneinalcanzable
La música del Perú no solo es esta ni Chabuca Granda , está música es antigua pero sigue intacta y igual de bonita , en Perú hay rock ,cumbia ,salsa , reggaeton, boleros,etc tanto así que si Perú tuviera una empresa musical la música latina quedaría chica al lado de Perú y el Perú ganaría más de mil grammys por año
@renanacevedo1518
Chabuca Granda inmortal con su música que nunca dejará de gustar por generaciones
@rafaelernestobetancourtram421
Soy Venezolano y vivo aqui, cada vez que escucho este tema, mi corazon palpita de emocion al sentir lo grande de nuestra cultura latinoamericana, su musica y su folklore, Vivan los pueblos latinoamericanos.
@franciscote1000
Viva el mestizaje y los traumas que aún tenemos hehe..
@juancarlos-bm3px
Soy boliviano es el más bello vals que mi.querida mamá escuchaba cada mañana de domingo hermosa música del Peru querido y la música de la gran señora Carmelita Lara gracias Peru.por brindar eso inmortales vals
@miljus
Carmencita Lara
@albertocaycho6555
Y CASI NADIE O NADIE ,SE FIO CUENTA DEL MAESTRO QUE HACE MUSICA TAN SOLO CON DOS CUCHARAS SOPERAS.EL ARTE MISMO EN SU ESENCIA
@najmabelli8190
Lástima que no lo mostraron mucho. Es un tremendo talento rítmico. Bravo!
@AiramSelar
Verdad