He founded, in 1971, the recognized independent record label Ayuí/Tacuabé in order to promote and support valuable Uruguayan musical expressions, along with other musicians like José "Pepe" Guerra, Braulio López, Coriún Aharonián, Myriam Dibarboure, María Teresa Sande and Edgardo Bello,
He has performed the works of Cuban Nueva Trova stars Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés and Brazil's Chico Buarque and Edu Lobo and has worked with Cuban composer and arranger Leo Brouwer. His recordings are widely available, especially "Trópicos" (1972).
Viglietti was imprisoned in 1972 by his own government. He was supported by the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre as an international man of conscience, a voice for peace, and an opponent of the fascism and tyranny that plagued South America in the 1970s. Rumors about possible mistreatment against him forced the authorities to bring him out in front of television cameras to show that, in particular, his hands were fine. However, Viglietti spoke out that his treatment in police custody was much better than what other political prisoners received. He was a peer of the late Chilean poet and folk singer Victor Jara and composer and activist Violeta Parra.
La Doncella
Daniel Viglietti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Transparente niña,
Un día de otoño
Sentí que te amaba.
Siempre esperaba
Las miradas tuyas,
Dulces hermanas
Del amanecer.
De los viejos juncos
El viento a tu paso
Dejó su canción.
A veces triste
Yo miraba el río
Buscando tus ojos
Entre el agua azul.
Doncella del río,
Tu sueño llevaste
Desde el agua honda
A mi corazón.
Fui tus ojos,
Fui tu piel,
Fui agua entre tus manos.
Mas un día olvidaste el río
Y su abrazo azul.
El tiempo tiene alas de gigante,
El amor tiene vuelo débil
Y a veces cae.
Te fuiste
Como el otoño
Tras un silencio de cobres.
Doncella del río,
La arena ya olvida
Tu ausente mirada
Del atardecer.
The song La Doncella by Daniel Viglietti is a melancholic story of lost love. The song begins by addressing the titular Doncella, who is described as a transparent girl from the river. The singer confesses to having fallen in love with her one autumn day, and always seeking her sweet gaze at the sunrise. The river reeds recall her passing, and sometimes the singer would feel sad while looking at the blue water, hoping to find her eyes among them.
The chorus seems to indicate that the singer had a close relationship with the Doncella, evoking imagery of sharing eyes, skin, and hands. However, one day she forgot about the river and its embrace, and the inevitable passage of time and faded love took over. The Doncella left, like autumn fading into silence, and now the sand has forgotten her absent gaze at sunset.
The song is a poignant reflection on the transience and fragility of love, and the inevitability of things coming to an end. The river and autumn imagery set a wistful and melancholic tone that complements the sad tale. The lyrics also evoke the beauty of nature and the lyrical prowess of Viglietti's writing style.
Line by Line Meaning
Doncella del río,
Addressing the Maiden of the river
Transparente niña,
Fair and see-through girl, drawing attention to her purity
Un día de otoño
Sentí que te amaba.
The writer fell in love with the maiden one autumn day
Siempre esperaba
Las miradas tuyas,
Dulces hermanas
Del amanecer.
The writer was always anticipating the maiden's kind, cheerful gaze at dawn
En la memoria
De los viejos juncos
El viento a tu paso
Dejó su canción.
The memory of the maiden has been etched into the reeds' memory through the song that the wind carried with her
A veces triste
Yo miraba el río
Buscando tus ojos
Entre el agua azul.
Sometimes, the writer looked at the river, feeling sad, searching for the maiden's blue eyes in the water
Doncella del río,
Tu sueño llevaste
Desde el agua honda
A mi corazón.
The Maiden's dream flowed from the deep waters to the writer's heart
Fui tus ojos,
Fui tu piel,
Fui agua entre tus manos.
The writer became the maiden's eyes, skin, and the water flowing through her fingers
Mas un día olvidaste el río
Y su abrazo azul.
Although, one day, the Maiden forgot the river and its blue embrace
El tiempo tiene alas de gigante,
El amor tiene vuelo débil
Y a veces cae.
The time has giant wings, and love has a weak flight, and sometimes it falls
Te fuiste
Como el otoño
Tras un silencio de cobres.
The Maiden left, just like autumn, and a silence of coppers surrounded her departure
Doncella del río,
La arena ya olvida
Tu ausente mirada
Del atardecer.
The river's sand has forgotten the Maiden's absent gaze at sunset
Contributed by Leah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.