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.
María Sueños
Chabuca Granda Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
en los sueños de María, María, María sueños
van tejiendo sus sentidos
un mundo que es sólo de ella
y persiguiendo su estrella
anda y desanda caminos.
Entre senderos dormidos
bebiendo de las vertientes para llegar a la vida
con voz de hoguera y distancia va jugando los silencios
escarpando cordilleras María, María sueños.
Gritan, revueltos los ríos; por las quebradas
llora la madre morena llora la tierra,
tierra nuestra, tierra grave, tierra madre americana
es una madera nueva, y generosa
y está tendida la mesa de la esperanza
y en el mantel de alborada
brilla la luz para la fruta que sueña María sueños.
Por selvas, soles y lunas despeñando sus ensueños
vuela recodos y cuestas María, María sueños
se va tiñendo en el pecho del corazón de los pueblos
donde cerrados los ojos los hombres se están mintiendo
hay un motivo de tierra que grita desde la vida
en los años de María, María sueños.
Años de piedra dormida que formaron los caminos
en los que sueña y florece María, María sueños.
The song "Maria Sueños" by Chabuca Granda is a beautiful tribute to the dreams and aspirations of a woman named Maria. The lyrics are full of vivid imagery and metaphors that bring to life Maria's world of dreams, where she is free to weave her own reality and pursue her own star. The opening verse paints a picture of pine trees swaying in the wind, their scent wafting through the air, as Maria's dreams take shape in her mind. The rest of the song describes the journey of Maria's dreams, as they grow and blossom, and the challenges she must overcome along the way.
The lyrics are filled with references to nature and the landscape of South America, including the mountains, rivers, and forests that surround Maria's world. The song also touches on themes of motherhood, identity, and cultural heritage, as Maria's dreams are rooted in the rich cultural traditions of her ancestors. At its heart, "Maria Sueños" is a celebration of the human spirit and the limitless potential of the human imagination, as embodied by the title character.
Line by Line Meaning
Ay los pinos en el viento con el olor a distancia
The fragrance of distant pine trees sways in the wind.
en los sueños de María, María, María sueños
In the dreams of Maria, Maria, Maria dreams.
van tejiendo sus sentidos
Weaving her senses together.
un mundo que es sólo de ella
A world that belongs only to her.
y persiguiendo su estrella
And chasing after her own star.
anda y desanda caminos.
Walking and retracing her steps.
Entre senderos dormidos
Amongst slumbering pathways.
florece María sueños
Maria dreams bloom.
bebiendo de las vertientes para llegar a la vida
Drinking from springs to reach life.
con voz de hoguera y distancia va jugando los silencios
With a voice of fire and distance, she plays with silence.
escarpando cordilleras María, María sueños.
Scaling mountains with her dreams, Maria, Maria dreams.
Gritan, revueltos los ríos; por las quebradas
The rivers roar and twist; through the ravines.
llora la madre morena llora la tierra,
The brown-skinned mother cries, the earth cries.
tierra nuestra, tierra grave, tierra madre americana
Our land, solemn land, American motherland.
es una madera nueva, y generosa
It's a new and generous wood.
y está tendida la mesa de la esperanza
And the table of hope is set.
y en el mantel de alborada
And on the tablecloth of dawn.
brilla la luz para la fruta que sueña María sueños.
The light shines for the fruit that Maria dreams of.
Por selvas, soles y lunas despeñando sus ensueños
Tumbling through her dreams on forests, suns, and moons.
vuela recodos y cuestas María, María sueños
Maria dreams fly through twists and slopes.
se va tiñendo en el pecho del corazón de los pueblos
She's coloring the heart of the people.
donde cerrados los ojos los hombres se están mintiendo
Where, with closed eyes, men are deceiving themselves.
hay un motivo de tierra que grita desde la vida
There's a reason from the land that screams out from life.
en los años de María, María sueños.
In the years of Maria, Maria dreams.
Años de piedra dormida que formaron los caminos
Years of sleeping rock that formed the paths.
en los que sueña y florece María, María sueños.
Where Maria dreams and blooms, Maria, Maria dreams.
Contributed by Adalyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vilma Huaracha
Que buenos sentimientos , que poesia.
Se adelanto al tiempo, que magistral.
Chabuca Grande. Chabuca granda.
Que dulzura.
UT LIMA METROPOLITANA
Bonito video con la letra poética e inigualable de la gran Chabuca Granda.
javier isla idone
Gracias por publicar mas.canciones de Chabuca Granda.
Dedi Cuello
Está canción lo dedico a los Estado Unidos y al mundo y a mí Perú que lo amo arriba nuestro continente estamos con Dios
Dedi Cuello
Yo lo dedico a mí Perú por día de la patria está canción y a todas la gente peruanos y a todas y todos costa cierra y selva lo dedico con cariño a mí Perú
Felipe ormeño
Que bonito el trabajo que haces de difundir para nunca olvidar a esta gran mujer. Mi padre me inculco su musica. Espero que llegues a muchas personas. Te compartire todos tus videos, como minimo. Exitos y abrasos.
Dedi Cuello
Está canción lo dedico Ami madre y a mi padre está canción le gusta va volver con Dios y ahora está a lado Dios bailando con los
Angeles del cielo a lado de Dios
Dedi Cuello
Esta canción lo dedico a mí madre y a mí padre que está a lado del Dios y está en el universo mí madre es la madre grande y está a lado del sol y las estrellas que lindo es estar a lado de Dios el que está a lado del creador en la mejor riqueza del universo ella bien con Dios cuando el vuelta gracias mí Dios te amo mí universo y mis estrellas
Dedi Cuello
María sueña a su tierra y su río huallaga que recorre por el caminito que Dios lo hizo por dónde corre las venas de nuestra bella durmiente que protejan a nuestro Perú y al mundo mí Perú es el corazón de nuestro planeta
Aderli Martinez
Excelente, sólo excelente trabajo!❤️🔥🇵🇪