Silvio Rodriguez in El Salvador

Cuban folk singer Silvio Rodriguez, my all-time favorite, was on tour in Central America a couple of weeks ago. He played Guatemala City on February 27, San Salvador on the 29th, and Managua on March 2nd. I’m a little disappointed in my friends in Salvador and Nica for not telling me about this in time for me to buy a reasonably priced plane ticket. Silvio is getting up there in years, and probably will not do many more tours like this one.

Rodriguez is like a Latin American Bob Dylan. At one time, he was the voice of a generation. He’s capable of writing the greatest love songs and equally gifted at crafting songs with a potent social and political message. Once, when asked in an interview which of these two categories of songs was more important, Silvio replied: All of my songs are love songs, especially the political ones.

Some day, I hope he does a US tour..

Check out this video of his performance in San Salvador. This is probably one of my favorite songs of his, it’s called “Oleo de una Mujer con Sombrero/Oil painting of a woman with a hat”, perhaps only topped by “La era esta pariendo un corazon/The Times are Giving Birth to a Heart”. Not the best sound quality, but it gives you a feel of how into the concert the crowd was, as this was his first time ever playing in El Salvador. A higher quality version of the song is posted below.

My favorite line is:

La cobardía es asunto
de los hombres, no de los amantes.
Los amores cobardes no llegan a amores,
ni a historias, se quedan allí.
Ni el recuerdo los puede salvar,
ni el mejor orador conjugar.

Translation:
Cowardice is an issue
among men not among lovers
Cowardly affairs don’t grow into love stories,
or even fairy tales, they remain as they were.
the kind not even memory can save
nor the best orator convey.

Tags: El Salvador, Nueva Trova, Silvio Rodriguez