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 Fuente
Daniel Viglietti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Corazón de agua
Y en su pelo de musgo
Esconde un dolor.
Dolor de un largo
Camino andado,
Triste regreso del agua
Lejos del sol.
Del cielo a la fuente,
Lágrimas de un ángel
Que llorando está.
Eterno giro
De las aguas quietas
Que un día en las nubes
Lejanas renacerán.
Es nuestra vida
Cual la vieja fuente,
Cántaro de piedra
Recubre agua,
Simple agua
Que canta y canta
En la triste fuente
Y un día se va.
La fuente tiene
Corazón de agua
Y en su pelo de musgo
Un dolor.
The song "La Fuente" by Daniel Viglietti speaks of the pain and sorrow hidden within a fountain with mossy hair, symbolizing the various challenges and hardships faced in life. The fountain, with a heart made of water, has walked a long and lonely path, and its return to the water is a sorrowful one, far from the warmth of the sun. The path of the fountain's tears from the sky to the earth, like an angel weeping, represents the eternal cycle of life where the tears will one day return to the clouds and renew themselves.
Like the old fountain, our lives are made of stone, which covers the water, the simple tears and emotions that we conceal within ourselves. The song emphasizes the idea that even though our lives may be simple and seem to only flow in one direction, the fountain is a reminder that all things have a beginning and an end. The water that flows from the fountain will one day run out and disappear. The lyrics urge us to draw inspiration from the fountain and the lessons it teaches.
Line by Line Meaning
La fuente tiene
The fountain possesses
Corazón de agua
A heart of water
Y en su pelo de musgo
And in its mossy hair
Esconde un dolor.
It hides a pain.
Dolor de un largo
A pain from a long
Camino andado,
Walked path,
Triste regreso del agua
The sad return of water
Lejos del sol.
Far from the sun.
Senda de lluvia
A path of rain
Del cielo a la fuente,
From the sky to the fountain,
Lágrimas de un ángel
Tears of an Angel
Que llorando está.
Who is crying.
Eterno giro
Eternal cycle
De las aguas quietas
Of the still waters
Que un día en las nubes
That one day in the clouds
Lejanas renacerán.
They will be reborn far away.
Es nuestra vida
Our life is
Cual la vieja fuente,
Like the old fountain,
Cántaro de piedra
Stone jug
Recubre agua,
Covered in water,
Simple agua
Simple water
Que canta y canta
That sings and sings
En la triste fuente
In the sad fountain
Y un día se va.
And one day it will go.
La fuente tiene
The fountain possesses
Corazón de agua
A heart of water
Y en su pelo de musgo
And in its mossy hair
Un dolor.
A pain.
Contributed by Maria Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.