Santa Sabina are distinguished by their gothic rock lyrics and stage presence. Their music, however, is perhaps best described as a variant of progressive rock which borrows heavily from jazz.
At the end of the 1980s, Guerrero left her hometown of Guadalajara to attend the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City to pursue a career in theatre. There, she met Poncho Figueroa, Pablo Valero and Jacobo Leiberman, who at that time were members of a jazz group called "the Psicotrópicos". "The Psicotrópicos" agreed to provide music for a play written for Guerrero's theatre class based on Franz Kafka's "Amérika". As they worked together, they realized they had a strong artistic affinity. After the dissolution of the "Psicotrópicos", they decided to form a new rock band that reflected their artistic vision. Although the group's lineup has changed through the years (as in the case of Pablo Valero and Jacobo Leiberman), the sound of the group, has evolved but remains faithful to its initial course.
Their first albums, Santa Sabina (1992), Símbolos (1994) and Babel (1996) were released through the now-defunct Mexican record label Culebra Records, a local branch of BGM Ariola. Their following albums, Mar adentro en la sangre (2001) and Espiral (2003), were independent productions. In 1997, they also recorded an album of their "unplugged" performance for MTV Latinamerica called Santa Sabina Unplugged.
The band reformed briefly in 2010 when it became clear that this might be the last chance to have Rita perform as she was diagnosed with breast cancer and treatment failed. On the 11th March 2011 Rita passed away which left the band without a lead-singer. No information is available whether they will reform with another singer.
El Cielo
Santa Sabina Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ser la flor que regresa al suelo gris
No ser nada, hambre fugaz
que extinguirá la sed del sol
En un pozo de agua que llovió
veo el color del cielo que va a caer
Con mis manos lo sostendré
Y tú ¿por qué te niegas a ver?
¿Por qué no me oyes gritar?
¿Es que no soy real?
¿Por qué prefieres verme morir
a verme tocar el sol
que me puede quemar?
Mi esperanza es como un cielo azul:
ilusión que se oculta por temor
El silencio le da calor
Nadie la ve quemándose
Duerme la luz sobre un cristal
que nadie puede ver
La invocará voz inmortal
que nadie puede oir
Esperanza
Un sol
Se va, se va
Caeré en ese pozo de luz,
Ya no tendré temor de ser una ilusión
Yo voy detrás del ardiente sol
No tengo nombre ni voz
Soy agua de su sed
Yo voy detrás del ardiente sol
la intensidad de su luz
incendio de mi fe
Yo soy el velo que va a caer
reflejo de un cielo azul
que nadie puede ver
The lyrics of Santa Sabina’s song “El Cielo” convey a sense of fear and uncertainty towards the concept of mortality and oblivion. The opening lines express an unnamed fear of becoming just another flower that wilts and fades into the grey soil. The allusion to hunger that will be extinguished by the sun’s thirst reflects the inevitable end of life, which is temporary, fleeting, and existentially futile.
The second verse beneath the bridge deviates from death and discusses the beauty of the sky. The singer observes the color of the sky falling into a well of water, eager to hold and preserve it. The lines “¿Por qué prefieres verme morir/a verme tocar el sol/que me puede quemar?” raise the question of whether it is better to live fully and risk getting hurt, or avoid experiencing anything at all. The chorus goes on to depict the singer’s hopeful aspiration to be like the sky, an illusion hiding from fear, and emerging from silence.
The third and final verse is a fusion of the beginning and the middle; the singer leaves behind her fears and embraces the ardor of the sun. She is determined to follow it, even if it means being consumed, and be the reflection of a beautiful blue sky that nobody can seem to see.
Overall, the lyrics of “El Cielo” invoke a sense of darkness that is mirrored with a yearning for light, an existence in flux that acknowledges the inevitability of life, but also acclaims the beauty of the sun and the sky that we witness each day.
Line by Line Meaning
Tengo un miedo que no sé nombrar
I am afraid of something that I cannot describe
Ser la flor que regresa al suelo gris
To be like a flower that fades away and falls to the ground
No ser nada, hambre fugaz
To mean nothing, to be a fleeting hunger
que extinguirá la sed del sol
That will quench the thirst of the sun
En un pozo de agua que llovió
In a well of rainwater
veo el color del cielo que va a caer
I see the color of the sky that is about to fall
Con mis manos lo sostendré
I will hold it with my hands
Conoceré su piel azul
I will know its blue skin
Y tú ¿por qué te niegas a ver?
And you, why do you refuse to see?
¿Por qué no me oyes gritar?
Why don't you hear me screaming?
¿Es que no soy real?
Am I not real?
¿Por qué prefieres verme morir
Why do you prefer to see me die?
a verme tocar el sol
Rather than seeing me touch the sun
que me puede quemar?
That could burn me?
Mi esperanza es como un cielo azul:
My hope is like a blue sky
ilusión que se oculta por temor
An illusion that is hidden by fear
El silencio le da calor
Silence gives it warmth
Nadie la ve quemándose
Nobody sees it burning
Duerme la luz sobre un cristal
The light sleeps on a crystal
que nadie puede ver
That nobody can see
La invocará voz inmortal
An immortal voice will call it forth
que nadie puede oir
That nobody can hear
Esperanza
Hope
Un sol
A sun
Se va, se va
It goes away, it goes away
Caeré en ese pozo de luz,
I will fall into that well of light
Ya no tendré temor de ser una ilusión
I will no longer fear being an illusion
Yo voy detrás del ardiente sol
I follow the burning sun
No tengo nombre ni voz
I have no name or voice
Soy agua de su sed
I am the water of its thirst
la intensidad de su luz
The intensity of its light
incendio de mi fe
Ignition of my faith
Yo soy el velo que va a caer
I am the veil that will fall
reflejo de un cielo azul
Reflection of a blue sky
que nadie puede ver
That nobody can see
Contributed by Levi R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.