1) Born in Cuatro Caminos (Madrid) 1969, his musical influences come more from the pop than from traditional song-writters. His influences are ABBA, Michael Jackson, James Taylor, The Eagles, Tracy Chapman, Nanci Griffith, Suzanne Vega and Emmylou Harris.
He begins to study English Philology, and in 1991 it will spend months in London, where it begins to dedicate himself to music. When he returns to Spain he started singing in the Madrid subway and in El Retiro park, then singing on pubs and coffees like the mythical Libertad 8, where he meet other singers like Pedro Guerra.
In 1994 he records his first LP, that will count with the collaboration of artists like Ana Belén, Víctor Manuel, Luis Pastor, Pedro Guerra or Rogelio Botanz. Songs like "La edad del porvenir" or "Uno, dos, tres, cuatro", will catapult him to the fame. Also it will record a cover of the song "Las casas de cartón", theme from the venezuelan songwritter Alí Primera.
In 1999, his LP "Tres", where he experiences with electronic sounds and "more radical" letters, will undergo the censorship from part of the main musical radios.
After the edition of "Tres" it has a series of problems with the record house EMI-Chrysalis (which criticized one of the songs of the disc) reason why breaks with it. Its following disc was published with DRO; one is "Grandes éxitos", singing covers from other artists.
2) Javier Álvarez (born 1956, Mexico City) is a Mexican composer who is known for creating works that combine a variety of international musical styles and traditions that often utilize unusual instruments and new music technologies. His works have been performed throughout the world by such ensembles as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Mexico City Philharmonic, and the Orchestre National de France among others. He also notably composed the music for Guillermo del Toro's acclaimed 1993 horror film Cronos. Composer John Adams stated, "The music of Javier Alvarez reveals influences of popular cultures that go beyond the borders of our own time and place."[1]
A graduate of the Royal College of Music and City University London, Álvarez has received numerous prizes and honors including a Mendelssohn Scholarship, the Lionel Robbins Award, a Gemini Fellowship, the ICEM Prize (1987), Austria’s Prix Ars Electronica (1993), and awards at the Bourges International Festival. From 1993-1999 he was a Fellow of the Mexican Endowment for the Arts and Culture. He was a founding member of Sonic Arts Network and served as the Artistic Director of the Society for the Promotion of New Music in 1993. He has been a member of the music faculties of the City University London, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Malmö Music Academy, the Royal College of Music, and the University of Hertfordshire. He lived in England from 1982 through 2007 and now resides in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico where he is the founding director of the Musical Arts Department of the Escuela Superior de Artes de Yucatán.
De Aquí a la Eternidad
Javier Álvarez Lyrics
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Y el tiempo sólo existe para los que están
Deben ser cuatrocientos años los que se van
Las manos son ya ciegas de planchar un plan
Sueño con escapar de este berenjenal
Y el mar sólo lo vi en "de aquí a la eternidad"
La encontraron perdida en una plaza
La encontraron dormida y con el alma lejos,
Volando lejos
Asola el pensamiento la agonía de pensar
Pensar en tantos valses que pude bailar
Domestiqué una culpa por soñar tan mal
Con príncipes que no temieran naufragar
Sueño con escapar de este berenjenal
Y adentro sufro sola, por no saber gritar
La encontraron
Tengo el presentimiento de alguna verdad
Se agolpa en el recuerdo que futuro no hay
Los ojos se me cierran y aún he de limpiar
Mañana dulcemente tengo que acabar
De tejer el ayer, recorrer un mantel
Poblado de unos niños que yo amamanté
La encontraron
La princesa se fue su sonrisa mostró
El cuerpo un poco mustio de zurcir tanto el amor
La encontraron
The lyrics of Javier Alvarez's "De aquí a la eternidad" tell the story of someone who is feeling trapped in their current situation, longing to escape to a better place. The cold outside is a metaphor for the loneliness and despair felt inside, while time only exists for those who are present and not lost in their own thoughts. The mention of "cuatrocientos años" (four hundred years) leaving suggests that time is passing by quickly and the singer feels like they are stuck, unable to keep up. "Las manos son ya ciegas de planchar un plan" (hands are already blind from ironing out a plan) implies that the singer has been working hard to find a way out but isn't making any progress.
The singer then dreams of escaping from this "berenjenal" (confusing or complicated situation), with the sea only existing in their imagination. The second verse portrays the singer's disappointment in the fact that they will never get to experience all the wonderful things they had planned and had hoped for. The guilt they feel for dreaming of an ideal love with a prince who will never come is palpable, and they feel like they have to bear it alone as they cannot express themselves in a way that others can understand.
The final verse suggests that the singer has come to a realization that while the past is important, it cannot be changed and they have to move on. They need to start anew and let go of past regrets. "La princesa se fue su sonrisa mostró El cuerpo un poco mustio de zurcir tanto el amor" (the princess left, her smile showing, her body a bit withered from sewing so much love) indicates that the singer is ready to move on, to let the "princess" (their past dreams and hopes) go and start anew.
Line by Line Meaning
Afuera el frío arruga la ciudad
The cold weather is causing the city to become wrinkled and uncomfortable
Y el tiempo sólo existe para los que están
Time only exists for those who are present
Deben ser cuatrocientos años los que se van
It feels like four hundred years are passing
Las manos son ya ciegas de planchar un plan
The hands are tired of trying to come up with a plan
Sueño con escapar de este berenjenal
I dream of escaping this confusing situation
Y el mar sólo lo vi en "de aquí a la eternidad"
I have only seen the sea in movies or books
La encontraron dormida en una rama
They found her sleeping on a branch
La encontraron perdida en una plaza
They found her lost in a plaza
La encontraron dormida y con el alma lejos,
Volando lejos
They found her sleeping with her soul far away, flying
Asola el pensamiento la agonía de pensar
The agony of thinking is tormenting my thoughts
Pensar en tantos valses que pude bailar
Thinking about all the waltzes I could have danced
Domestiqué una culpa por soñar tan mal
I have accepted the guilt of dreaming badly
Con príncipes que no temieran naufragar
Dreaming of princes who are not afraid of sinking
Y adentro sufro sola, por no saber gritar
I suffer inside alone, because I don't know how to scream
Tengo el presentimiento de alguna verdad
I have a feeling that there is some truth
Se agolpa en el recuerdo que futuro no hay
The memory reminds me that there is no future
Los ojos se me cierran y aún he de limpiar
My eyes are closing and I still have to clean
Mañana dulcemente tengo que acabar
I have to finish sweetly tomorrow
De tejer el ayer, recorrer un mantel
Poblado de unos niños que yo amamanté
Weaving the past, going through a tablecloth filled with children I breastfed
La princesa se fue su sonrisa mostró
El cuerpo un poco mustio de zurcir tanto el amor
The princess left, she showed her smile, her body a bit tired of mending so much love
La encontraron
They found her
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JAVIER ALVAREZ FERNANDEZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind