historia del lamento borinqueño - Puerto Rico - TT: The History of LAMENTO BORINCANO - TA: Puerto Rico

In the lyrics of Lamento Borincano, Rafael Hernández recalls the Puerto Rico he knew as a child. He delineates the jibarito, symbol of the Puerto Rican people, surrounded by the beauty of that tropical island. He presents him to us descending from his Garden of Eden in the hills of Puerto Rico on his mare loaded with the products of his small farm. The jibarito is full of optimism and looks forward to selling his wares in the public market. He is totally unsuspecting of what he will find once he reaches the tragic realism of the city. Unable to sell his produce, the jibarito heads back home frustrated and despondent.

The composer himself refers to this bittersweet song as "a joyous hymn" when the jibarito sets out on his journey of hope and a sad lamento on his return. Rafael Hernández was a master storyteller and in his Lamento Borincano he summarizes the pathetic situation of the poor people in Puerto Rico in the 1930s. Here is what he wrote:

Sale loco de contento,

He leaves full of joy

con su cargamento

with his load of produce

para la ciudad, ¡ay!

destined for the city,

para la ciudad.

for the city.

Lleva en su pensamiento

His mind is full with

todo un mundo lleno

images of a world

de felicidad, ¡ay!

replete with happiness,

de felicidad.

much happiness.

The song begins with a hopeful tone. It is a brand new day and the jibarito is full of the country folk's traditional optimism. He even envisions what he will do with the money from his sales. In all this anticipated joy there is a foreboding note expressed by the lamentation ¡ay! The next few verses were added by Hernández after Canario almost forcibly took the song from the composer.

Y alegre también su yegua va

His mare trots along merrily

al presentir que aquel cantar

sensing that his song

es toda un himno de alegría.

is a total hymn of joy.

Y en eso le sorprende

Just about then daylight

la luz del día,

overtakes them and they arrive

y llegan al mercado

at the city's market.

de la ciudad.

Apparently Rafael felt it was important to show that even nature shared the happiness and optimism of the moment. These verses also heighten the dramatic impact of the next few scenes. As if in a theater, night's dark curtain rises and the jibarito's eyes are soon filled with the stark vista of the city market.

pasa la mañana entera

The entire morning goes by

sin que nadie pueda

and no one can afford

su carga comprar, ¡ay!

to buy his produce.

su carga comprar.

Todo, todo está desierto

There's nothing but desolation.

el pueblo está muerto

and the people are dying from

de necesidad, ¡ay!

starvation.

de necesidad.

Stunned by the full impact of the harsh reality, the jibarito resigns himself to the fact that his homeland and his way of life are in peril. His only salvation is to return to the hills and live in communion with nature until the calamity subsides.

Se oye lamento por

This lament can be heard

por doquier

throughout my unfortunate

en mi desdichada Borinquen, sí.