Manifiesto

Victor Jara
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Lyrics

Translation

Yo no canto por cantar

I don't sing just to sing

Ni por tener buena voz

Not to have a good voice

Canto porque la guitarra

I sing because the guitar

Tiene sentido y razón

Has meaning and reason


Tiene corazón de tierra

It has a heart of earth

Y alas de palomita

And wings of a little dove

Es como el agua bendita

It's like blessed water

Santigua glorias y penas

Blesses glories and sorrows


Aquí se encajó mi canto

Here my song was fitted

Como dijera Violeta

As Violeta would say

Guitarra trabajadora

Hardworking guitar

Con olor a primavera

With the scent of spring


Que no es guitarra de ricos

It's not a guitar for the rich

Ni cosa que se parezca

Or anything like that

Mi canto es de los andamios

My song is from the scaffolds

Para alcanzar las estrellas

To reach the stars

Que el canto tiene sentido

Because singing makes sense

Cuando palpita en las venas

When it throbs in the veins

Del que morirá cantando

Of the one who will die singing

Las verdades verdaderas

The true truths

No las lisonjas fugaces

Not fleeting flattery

Ni las famas extranjeras

Or foreign fames

Si no el canto de una lonja

But the song of a blade

Hasta el fondo de la tierra

To the depth of the earth


Ahí donde llega todo

There where everything reaches

Y donde todo comienza

And where everything begins

Canto que ha sido valiente

A song that has been brave

Siempre será canción nueva

Will always be a new song

Moderated by Miguel Sanchez
San Juan, Puerto Rico August 5, 2025
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