Amparo Velasco "La Negra" is a gypsy and raised in Elche Alicante, Spain th… Read Full Bio ↴Amparo Velasco "La Negra" is a gypsy and raised in Elche Alicante, Spain that could pass for an American woman, Dominican, African ... cause of her black complexion, her 'tosted' voice and for the music she records. Jazz, Latin-Jazz, Tango, Brazilian music and flamenco which come from its gypsy roots.

The first record by La Negra, whose debut is an album that was produced by Javier Limón: flamenco, jazz, tango and Brazilian music. In this work, La Negra has been able to count on the participation of musicians such as Niño Josele and Jerry González. Her first solo album reveals a voice and a performing ability that soar over the styles and songs in the record.

Antes
La Negra Lyrics

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Antes yo no fuí
antes yo existí
como hoja que vuela
bebiéndome el silencio
tragándome la tierra
Antes en el dolor
antes sin sabor
sola ante la niebla

perdida en el desierto
tragándome la arena.

Antes del miedo
antes la hiedra
antes sometiéndome
antes sin estrellas.

Antes el dolor
antes el dolor
tengo el alma negra
bebiéndome el silencio
mordiéndome la pena.

Antes del miedo
antes la hiedra
antes sometiéndome
antes sin estrellas.
Antes del miedo

Antes la pena
antes sometiéndome
antes sin estrellas.
Antes...

Antes...
Antes...todo lo que antes...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of La Negra's song "Antes" portray the idea of a preceding existence that the singer had prior to her current state. She describes this state as being similar to a leaf flying in the air, drinking in silence and swallowing earth, being alone in the fog, lost in the desert, and swallowing sand. The lyrics suggest that before her current pain and sorrowful existence, there was a time when she was free and unchained. The repeated line "Antes del miedo, antes la hiedra, antes sometiéndome, antes sin estrellas" suggests that before the fear, before the entanglement, before submission and before the absence of stars, there was a time of free-spirited existence.

The lines "Tengo el alma negra, bebiéndome el silencio, mordiéndome la pena" can be interpreted as the current state of the singer, wherein she has a blackened soul, drinking in silence and biting into her pain. The song ends with the repetition of the word "Antes," implying that the singer longs for that previous, less painful existence.

Overall, the lyrics of "Antes" express a desire for a past state of being that was devoid of fear, sorrow, and chains.

Line by Line Meaning

Antes yo no fuí
I did not exist before

antes yo existí
I came to existence

como hoja que vuela
Like a leaf that flies

bebiéndome el silencio
Drinking in the silence

tragándome la tierra
Swallowing the earth

Antes en el dolor
Before in pain

antes sin sabor
Before without flavor

sola ante la niebla
Alone in the fog

perdida en el desierto
Lost in the desert

tragándome la arena
Swallowing the sand