It's been quite a journey since Orishas released their first album 'A Lo Cubano' in Spain in May 1999. Lauded by the press throughout Europe ever since it came out, the group launched into a marathon tour that started in summer 1999. From clubs to festivals, the European tour stretched out to just over two years with evening performances of their music catalogue at the Olympia, the Ancienne Belgique and the Royal Festival Hall in England. They were to play at the most prestigious festivals in Europe like the Lowlands (Holland), where they topped the bill along with groups like Deftones and Cypress Hill, and the Roskilde (Denmark), where they brewed up a storm alongside groups as disparate as Tool and Wyclef Jean. Orishas also performed in the year 2000 at festivals like the Paleo Nyon Festival, the La Rochelle Francofolies and Pop Kom.
The group gradually acquired international standing, and after conquering Europe they went on to win over the United States in November 2000, with the American press unanimous in its acclaim: articles and reviews in Time, Rolling Stone, The Source, Vibe ,... Little by little they became an essential live band, capable of sharing the stage with artists as diverse as Compay Segundo, Orquestra Aragon, Iggy Pop, Cypress Hill, Macy Gray and Marcus Miller. Orishas paid their dues on the road and left Europe to take part in various jazz festivals in Canada and South Africa, dropping in on Brazil and Mexico. Orishas left no doubt that their musical fusion, unique in its genre, enables them to break the frontiers of style and to be equally at home in front of a latino, hip hop, pop or rock audience.
December saw their triumphal return to Cuba, where they had occupied the top slots of the radio charts for months and where they gave two concerts that brought together tens of thousands of young Cubans. They had come full circle, because after touring the world Orishas' dream finally came true: playing in front of their families and the people of Cuba.
Collaborations came thick and fast, with Roldan Gonzalez appearing on various French rap albums (Kerry James) or international rap albums (Dari, Da Weasel / Portugal).
After more than 200 concerts worldwide, the group decided to get back to song writing in August 2001. It was only to be expected that they would start working together again with the French producer and composer Niko Noki, (Passi, Bisso Na Bisso), who along with Roldan Gonzalez had been responsible for the tracks on the first album. He in turn engaged the services of a young composer of the future, DJ Mig-One, who had two albums with his group Starflam under his belt. They strung several studio sessions together between Belgium and Paris to knock up no fewer than twenty tracks. In November 2001 the group was ready at last to go back into the studio proper to record the successor to A Lo Cubano. They opted for the EMI studio in Paris, where the cream of Cuban musicians gathered at the group's behest to immortalise the songs of the Emigrante album. The group had matured and learned a great deal from touring the world, the subjects are more profound and given a more international treatment. Having had their eyes opened by the big world has had a visible impact on their writing. As on the first album, Miko Niko is in charge of musical production and most of the tracks, DJ Mig One has penned 3 compositions that underpin the plurality of their influences. The album was mixed at the Polygone studio in Toulouse under the auspices of Mario Rodriguez (Notorious B.I.G., Public Enemy, Mobb Deep, Fonky Family, 113...). Once again the alchemy is perfect. The new album sees the return of two very talented artists and long-standing friends of the group: Passi on La Vida Passa and Yuri Buenaventura on 300 Kg de Rap.
The new album has a pan-European release on April 22, 2002 and is being promoted in a tour that takes in more than ten countries before being presented on the stages of the major European festivals this summer.
Guajira
Orishas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Como esta el flow, como esta el flow
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Quiero saber quien dio taller
A esa frasecita frita de que el rap is dead
Mejor que no siga pisoteando estrofa
Da solo fatiga, su lengua se atrofia
Rima viperina, con la nota bizca sin saber si quiera
(Que vengo de la loma)
Cantera que asoma pa cerrar tu venda
Que como cartera, todo lo soporta
Y que porta dentro falso cotorreo
Y tu cotorreo, eso huele a estiércol
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Comenzó en el año ochenta en los ghettos de mi Habana
Que el hip hop a la cubana hizo acto de presencia
Manteniendo bien la esencia de mi son tradicional
Ahora lo quieren cambiar, le robaron hasta el nombre
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Analiza y piensa que todo lo que sube baja, a que jode?
El problema no es llegar sino mantener
Cuando yo empecé, todavía estaba esculpiendo
Las tareas que dejé cuando Amenaza
Que bien conoces tu en tu casa Comprendiste
Y descubriste la calle y su poesía
Y de letras mías sacabas melodías, que yo lo sé
A ver, a ver, a ver, que está pasando aquí?
Si yo te lo advertí Esto es profesional
Son doce rounds pa terminar, pa acabar
Haberte dao' cuenta antes de subir
Esa mina adecuada dártelo en movimiento rápido
Que te meto ya en tu beat
Sin codazos yo le doy al papito non hai capito
Te lo repito despacito swing sin codazos
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Recordando la leyenda, somos de la Guarda Raya
De raíces y de tierra, droga sembrada de caña
Si la mente no me engaña, tenemos de Cimarrón
De Congo y Caravali
(Oye)
Y mezclaíto con España
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
Si esto es pura técnica underground
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
(Como está el flow)
The opening lines of Orishas's song Guajira call for a verification of the flow and sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The song revolves around the skills of underground rappers in the neighborhood and their ability to dominate in the first round. The lyrics suggest a challenge to anyone who thinks they can prove otherwise. The song highlights the importance of technique and true underground enculturation while dismissing those who try to undermine it.
The lyrics also take a historical perspective on the origins of hip hop in Cuba. Starting in the 80s, hip hop grew in the ghettos of Havana and was fused with traditional Cuban music to create a unique sound. The song laments the fact that the name and essence of hip hop are being taken away, and the original sound is being changed. The lyrics also talk about the mixture of various cultures that helped shape Cuban hip hop, including Afro-Caribbean roots, and Spanish influences.
The song's chorus repeats the line "como esta el flow" (how's the flow), emphasizing the importance of flow and technique in rapping. The lyrics also mention maintaining skills, hard work, and dedication to the craft, as well as the need to be aware of and pay homage to the pioneers who paved the way for Cuban hip hop. The song is an ode to the rappers of the barrio, their technical skills, and their deep connection to their Afro-Caribbean roots and culture.
Line by Line Meaning
Vaya, pa que verifique
Let's go and check how good the flow is
Como esta el flow, como esta el flow
How is the flow, how is the flow
Cantando están los raperos del barrio
The rappers from the neighborhood are singing
Si esto es pura técnica underground
If this is pure underground technique
Tu no me duras ni un minuto en este primer round
You won't last a minute in this first round
(Como está el flow)
(How is the flow)
Quiero saber quien dio taller
I want to know who taught
A esa frasecita frita de que el rap is dead
That fried little phrase that rap is dead
Mejor que no siga pisoteando estrofa
It's better that he doesn't keep trampling on verses
Da solo fatiga, su lengua se atrofia
It only causes fatigue, his tongue atrophies
Rima viperina, con la nota bizca sin saber si quiera
Venomous rhyme, with the crooked note without even knowing
(Que vengo de la loma)
(That I come from the hills)
Cantera que asoma pa cerrar tu venda
A quarry that emerges to close your sale
Que como cartera, todo lo soporta
That like a wallet, it endures everything
Y que porta dentro falso cotorreo
And that carries inside false chatter
Y tu cotorreo, eso huele a estiércol
And your chatter, that smells like manure
Comenzó en el año ochenta en los ghettos de mi Habana
It began in the 80s in the ghettos of my Havana
Que el hip hop a la cubana hizo acto de presencia
That Cuban hip hop made an appearance
Manteniendo bien la esencia de mi son tradicional
Maintaining well the essence of my traditional sound
Ahora lo quieren cambiar, le robaron hasta el nombre
Now they want to change it, they even stole the name
Analiza y piensa que todo lo que sube baja, a que jode?
Analyze and think that everything that goes up comes down, doesn't it suck?
El problema no es llegar sino mantener
The problem is not to arrive, but to maintain
Cuando yo empecé, todavía estaba esculpiendo
When I started, I was still sculpting
Las tareas que dejé cuando Amenaza
The tasks that I left when Amenaza came
Que bien conoces tu en tu casa Comprendiste
You know well in your house, you understood
Y descubriste la calle y su poesía
And you discovered the street and its poetry
Y de letras mías sacabas melodías, que yo lo sé
And you took melodies from my lyrics, I know it
A ver, a ver, a ver, que está pasando aquí?
Let's see, let's see, let's see, what's happening here?
Si yo te lo advertí Esto es profesional
If I warned you, this is professional
Son doce rounds pa terminar, pa acabar
There are twelve rounds to finish, to end
Haberte dao' cuenta antes de subir
Realize before going up
Esa mina adecuada dártelo en movimiento rápido
That suitable mine giving it to you in a quick movement
Que te meto ya en tu beat
That I already put you in your beat
Sin codazos yo le doy al papito non hai capito
Without elbowing, I hit the little daddy, don't you understand
Te lo repito despacito swing sin codazos
I repeat it to you slowly, swing without elbowing
Recordando la leyenda, somos de la Guarda Raya
Remembering the legend, we are from the Guarda Raya
De raíces y de tierra, droga sembrada de caña
Of roots and earth, drug planted of cane
Si la mente no me engaña, tenemos de Cimarrón
If my mind doesn't deceive me, we have Cimarrón
De Congo y Caravali
From Congo and Caravali
(Oye)
(Listen)
Y mezclaíto con España
And mixed with Spain
Contributed by Caroline W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@alejandraadarve4049
Aquí en Colombia hay un departamento llamado Guajira es una bella tierra . Y por supuesto me encanta la letra de las canciones de Orishas, inteligente melodía.
@alexisquinterosilva
Que grupo tan espectacular.. Ojala se unan otra vez; es una representación cubana, y también latinoamericana. ¡VIVA CUBA!...
@evanna999
Buah me encanta esta salsa!! Insuperables Orishas, viva Cuba!!!!!!
@hectormena92
La verdad grandisimo grupo me evado al eschar sus canciones un saludo a los cubanos de buen corazon desde España
@MrsMillania
España ama vuestro son! por favor seguir con él! que no pare! Un saludo desde España, abrazo para los cubanos ;)
@weremenai
los que me faltan que chingon saludos desde mexico
@BettyBlack001
Me encantan, muero con ustedes!!!!
@stcboaz
Shelley ... Aphasia ... Orishas - Guajira ... Musicas and Merry Christmas!!!!!
@vreich1
que buena musica no pense que fuera tan bueno este disco
@knigt029
Te Quiero Cuba ! Turqia...