To Keep In My Heart

This week will feature my favorite choral pieces. Most of these are the ones I sang with Novo during my last year with them in 2009. This year is by far the most memorable and meaningful to me. I’d never thought that it would be the year where I’d fly off to one of my dream destinations: Spain.

In Torrevieja is an annual choral singing competition called the Certamen Internacional de Habaneras y Polyfonia. Choral groups from around the world come to to Torrevieja for an awesome display of choral singing in two categories: Habaneras and Polyphony. Today, I’ll feature my favorite Habanera choral piece. The habanera is a genre of Cuban popular dance music of the 19th century. It is a creolized form which developed from the contradanza. (From Wikipedia) For more information about the habanera, you may also go to eNotes and StreetSwing.

In many competitions, choral groups need to sing a required choral piece and a choice piece. The choice piece that we chose to sing was “A Tulado” composed by Javier Busto.

Me sabe a sal tu pelo y es verde tu mirar

Me miras y me muero por se tu respirar

Tu chispa es loque quiero para ir contigo al mar

Me sabe a miel tu boca y para me es poco un beso

Si me hablas o me tocas me nublo me embeleso

Tu fortaleza de roca me retiene preso

No quiero escapar de ti, no quiero vivir sin virte

Porque seria un triste fin, haber vivido y perdete

Deja me aqui como un perro da me comida en tu mano

Ponme a taduras de hierro y ol vida que soy humano

Quiere me como a una sombra o ye me como a un latido

Pero deja que me esconda en tu pecho y que me duerma contigo

Whenever I sing and remember this song, I feel like swaying and dancing to the rhythm. I just move and groove deep within. And my favorite part is “Pero deja que me esconda en tu pecho y que me duerma contigo”--roughly translated means, “But keep me in your heart and there I shall sleep with you.” Truly, this is one song I’ll always keep in my heart. ;-)