Amalia Rosa

Music piece by:
Tino Carrasco
Testimony by:
Luis Cifuentes Seves
Experience in:
Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974

Los de Chacabuco, a band founded and conducted by Ángel Parra, performed this Venezuelan folk song, in the style of a joropoVenezuelan dance. Singing is accompanied by a harp or a cuatro and maracas., singing it at the weekly prison camp show. I dare say it was one of the favourite songs of the audience, comprised of political prisoners.

This song can be found in Alberto Corvalán’s clandestine recording of the farewell show for Angel. On the recording, it is called "Canción de Venezuela".


Tags:

Published on: 19 February 2015

Clandestine recording made by political prisoners in Chacabuco in 1974.

From Maracaibo departed
two doves flying
to La Guaira they’ll return
to La Guaira they’ll return
but to Maracaibo when?

[Chorus]
María gave me a ribbon
and Rosa took it away from me
Amalia fought with her
because Juana, because Juana was angered.
Now I’ve angered all four
and that is what I want.

Amalia, Amalia, Amalia
Amalia, Amalia Rosa
that’s the one I take with me
that’s the one I take with me
because she is the loveliest of them all.

Girl, take this dagger
and open my side
so you can see my heart
so you can see my heart
reflecting an image of yours.

Related testimonies:

  • Filistoque's Cueca (Cueca del Filistoque)  Víctor Canto Fuenzalida, Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, June 1974

    Filistoque is a real-life person in all his mighty height (1.90 metres tall). I always remember him laughing. In Chacabuco, we shared a house for nearly ten months. Around him, you were never allowed to become depressed or get into a stew over our situation.

  • Lucky Devil (El suertúo)  Luis Cifuentes Seves, Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974

    This cueca was composed at Chacabuco sometime between November 1973 and February 1974 and was sung by Los de Chacabuco, of which Víctor Canto and I were members.

  • A Cocky Fellow (El puntúo)  Luis Cifuentes Seves, Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, November 1973 - February 1974

    This cueca was composed in Chacabuco between November 1973 and February 1974, and was sung by the band Los de Chacabuco, to which Víctor Canto and I belonged.

  • The Crux of the Matter (La madre del cordero)  Servando Becerra Poblete, Campamento de Prisioneros Chacabuco, 9 November 1973 - 10 November 1974

    I recited this poem in the National Stadium. I continued to do so in the Chacabuco prison camp, earning the nickname of “Venancio” from my fellow prisoners.

  • The Crux of the Matter (La madre del cordero)  Servando Becerra Poblete, Campamento de Prisioneros, Estadio Nacional, 9 November 1973 - 10 November 1974

    I recited this poem in the National Stadium. I continued to do so in the Chacabuco prison camp, earning the nickname of “Venancio” from my fellow prisoners.

Testimonies from the Cantos Cautivos platform can be cited and shared as long as they are attributed (including the author, our project’s name and URL), for non-commercial purposes and without modifications, as per the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authorisation is required for 1) any reuse different from citations and sharing via the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license of the platform data and its associated metadata, and 2) any use in events, concerts, plays, films, etc., of musical works written or recorded by project participants. To that end, we request that you send a proposal at least one month in advance to contact@cantoscautivos.org. For uses of musical works written or recorded by people outside the project, please contact copyright holders.