Original post at http://lenguadelaz.blogspot.com/2012/11/i-wish-to-be-like-wind.html
In light of many papers that I have put off for far too long I will not be able to do a typical blog post today but I want to share something with you all. While I was in Peru in the Summer of 2010 I purchased a tapestry that many may have seen on my facebook.
The tapestry is entitled "Yo quiero ser como el viento" or "I wish to be like the wind" and it was inspired by a song that became a cry for many in the mountains of Ayacucho when Sendero Luminoso (the Shining Path) terrorist organization was running rampant.
Yo no quiero ser el hombre
que se ahoga en su llanto,
de rodillas hechas llagas
que se postra al tirano.
Yo quiero ser como el viento
que recorre continentes,
y arrasar tantos males
y estrellarlos entre rocas.
No quiero ser el verdugo,
que de sangre mancha el mundo,
y arrancar corazones
que amaron la justicia
y arrancar corazones
que buscaron la libertad.
Yo quiero ser el hermano
que da mano al caído,
y abrazados férreamente
vencer mundos que oprimen.
Por que vivir de engaños cholita,
de palabras que segregan veneno,
acciones que martirizan al mundo,
¡Ay! Sólo por tus caprichos, dinero,
¡Ay! Sólo por tus caprichos riqueza.
I do not promise perfection but here is my English interpretation:
I don’t want to be the person
Who was drowning in his own tears
With knees that were made too sore
From bowing down to the tyrant
I want to be like the strong wind
That crosses every continent
and wipes out many evils
and dashes through rocks
I don’t want to be the executioner
That stains the world with blood
And rips out all of the hearts
That were loving justice
And rips out all of the hearts
That were looking for liberty
I want to be the brother
That gives a hand to the fallen
and embraces so tightly
to overcome worlds that oppress
Why live in deception, my dear friend
With words that secrete such deadly venom
And with actions that so torment the world
Oh! Only for your whims, money
Oh! Only for your whims, wealth
Peace,
Lazarus
Peace,
Lazarus
