Transcultural Music Review
#10 (2006) ISSN:1697-0101
“La era está pariendo un corazón”
(“The Era Is Giving Birth to a Heart,” 1968),
in Al final de este viaje
This elegy to Che has been interpreted as referring to the gap between the ideologies of the Revolution and reality (Shaw 2002: 165, Gutiérrez 1999: 76-81). Thanks to the singer Omara Portuondo, who performed the song on radio and television, the song became popular toward the end of the 1960s.
As with “Fusil contra fusil,” the song has two contrasting sections, a restrained verse (“Le he preguntado a mi sombra”) and a more dramatic chorus (“La era está pariendo un corazón”). The verse is full of images of crying, both by the songwriter (“como mi llanto”) and the world at large (“la tierra llora”). The music is depictive of this mood; the melody descends chromatically in repeated notes (Ex 2A), reminiscent of expressions of quiet resignation in opera and art songs, while the harmony is static, with a bass pedal for the first three measures. The guitar playing seems depictive as well; in the introduction, its slight ornamental flourish followed by steady, monotone picking in the guitar, provokes an image of weeping. Word painting is ironic at “para reírme” and effective at “como mi llanto,” as the chromatic melody passes through B-flat and is harmonized with a G minor, or iv substituted for IV.
Ex. 2A-“La era está pariendo un corazón,” Verse
*Rhythms in melody after Martha Duarte (Rodríguez 2005, vol. 3: 22).
In contrast, the chorus honors Che’s dedication to causes everywhere (“debo dejar la casa y sillón,” “en cualquier selva del mundo,” “por cualquier hombre del mundo”). Musically, the chorus is more dramatic, with the melody in sequential leaps (Ex. 2B). The guitar is also strummed rather than finger-picked, and the harmonies and bass have more movement. Rodríguez emphasizes the words “pues se cae el porvenir” by moving from Em (ii) to F#m (iii) at the end of the phrase, avoiding the more common progression of ii-V, followed by I at the beginning of the next phrase. Hence, this early song shows Rodríguez already having considerable skill in painting words harmonically and constructing contrasting sections.
Ex. 2B-“La era está pariendo un corazón,” Chorus
*Rhythms in melody after Martha Duarte (Rodríguez 2005, vol. 3: 24).
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