El alazán
Liliana Vitale Lyrics

The opening of Liliana Vitale's song 'El alazán' sets a powerful metaphorical tone for us to follow. The singer refers to themselves and their horse, the titular 'Alazán,' as a 'cinta de fuego,' or ribbon of fire, which is galloping through landscapes as if they were born to do so. The horse represents the singer's ability to harness wild, free energy and ride it to their own ends. As they travel through the mountains and valleys, we get the sense that the singer is experiencing something transformative with the horse. They sing of 'Cien caminos anduvimos,' or a hundred roads they've already travelled together, and it's clear that their journey is just as much spiritual as it is physical.

The song's climax comes when the singer's horse meets its end. It is 'pialó' (roped) by a 'lazo de niebla' (fog rope) and falls to its death in an abyss. The tragedy here is multilayered. The singer was not there to help their horse or even call out its name ('Ni una voz para nombrarlo'). The horse's death signifies the end of the singer's spiritual journey and the death of their connection to nature. Even the physical world seems to have lost its luster as there is now a 'morral solitario' (lonely knapsack) and a 'corral sin relinchos' (corral without neighs). However, the final verse of the song suggests that the horse's spirit lives on. The singer imagines that if there truly is a heaven for good horses, their trusty steed is still 'galopando, galopando' (galloping) through the afterlife.