Lyrics: Manuel María (from the book “Aldraxe contra a xistra”, 1973)

Music: Fran Amil

Manuel María reviews our history, deliberately forgotten in the manuals in use at the time the poem was published. Fortunately, today we approach our history in another way, but it is necessary to remain alert, because the times of oblivion immediately settle in society without realizing it.

Fran Amil: lead vocals and drums

O Leo: voice collaboration

Paco Cerdeira: electric guitar

Álex Bardanca: bass

Aarón Bouzón: EWI 4000 and keyboards

Richi Casás: alto and tenor saxophones

Remember that you can read the lyrics while you listen to the song.

(…)
A nosa Historia cabe	Our history fits
en poucas páxinas:	in a few pages:
o sangue vertido	the spilled blood
no Medulio,	in the Medulio,
as revoltas irmandiñas,	irmandiñas riots,
Pardo de Cela,	Pardo de Cela,
a voz dos Precursores	the voice of the forerunners
ardendo	ablaze
en luminosa profecía:	in luminous prophecy:
Faraldo,	Faraldo,
Brañas,	Brañas,
Rosalía,	Rosalía,
Curros,	Curros,
Pondal,	Pondal,
os mártires de Carral,	the martyrs of Carral,
Vilar Ponte,	Vilar Ponte,
Cabanillas,	Cabanillas,
Alexandre Bóveda,	Alexandre Bóveda,
Castelao de Rianxo,	Castelao from Rianxo,
a ringleira sen fin	the endless row
dos emigrados…	of the emigrants…
Ao lembrar	When remembering
a nosa Historia	our history
verdadeira	true
todo o noso ser	all of our being
se pon en pé,	stands up,
a nosa conciencia	our conscience
esperta alporecida,	wake up enraged,
ferve o noso sangue,	our blood boils,
latexa máis forte	beats stronger
o noso corazón,	our heart,
sentimos a forza	we feel the force
das raigañas	of the roots
que nos xuguen	that unite us
á terra	to the earth
e ao seu sino;	and to his fate;
escoitamos como	we hear how
a voz do vento	the voice of the wind
nos relata	tells us
os feitos memorábeis,	memorable events,
esquecidos adrede	deliberately forgotten
nos manuais ao uso.	in the user manuals.
(…)

I leave you here a small onomastic appendix where we will see who are the characters mentioned in Manuel María’s poem, related to our History

Medulio.- Mount Medulio is the site of the battle between the Galicians, Cantabrians and Asturians in 22 BC. against the legions of Caio Fumio and Publio Carisio, and where the last resistant warriors committed suicide during the siege. To learn more visit this page on Monte Medulio, from the Liga Céltica Galáica. Or this other one in Spanish, written by Álvaro Van den Brule.

Revoltas irmandiñas.- In medieval Galicia, the irmandiños were the members of the Irmandades constituted to defend their interests against the abuses of the lords. In the 14th century, a very warlike nobility entered Galicia and attacked the monasteries, the bishops, the bourgeoisie and the peasants. This nobility arose after the struggles of Pedro I “the Cruel” and Henrique II. They were the Osorio family in Lemos and Sarria, the Andrade family in Pontedeume, the Sarmiento family, the Ulloas family, the Soutomaior family… They fought against the institutions and violently stripped them of the riches that belonged to them. The time of conflict in Galicia was in the fifteenth century. Of the constant social conflicts, the “Irmandiñas Wars” stand out, which were two: the first by the “Irmandade Fusquenlla” (1431), and the second called “Great Irmandiña War” (1467-1469). To know more visit this page in Spanish of Desperta Ferro ediciones. Or this other one also in Spanish from Recreación de la historia. We can also see this Wikipedia page in English.

Pardo de Cela.- Pedro Pardo de Cela was a feudal lord who faced the politics of the new kings of Castile, Isabella I and her husband, Fernando II of Aragon. He was beheaded on October 3, 1483, along with his son Pedro, in front of the Mondoñedo cathedral by order of the Catholic Monarchs. The figure of Marshal Pardo de Cela is one of the most mythologized in the history of Galicia, often used as a symbol of resistance of the Galician nobility against the Castilian nobility. To know more visit this page in Spanish of Celtiberia. Or this page also in Spanish from O´Novo. We can also see this Wikipedia page in English.

Precursores.- Precursors are those writers who developed their literary activity between 1833 and 1863. They are the enlightened and patriotic voices of Galicians who denounce the situation of the Galician language and culture. Their theme is closer to realism, since they primarily reflect events that they and those around them have to experience. They receive this name for fulfilling the role of initiators of Galician literature and the rebirth of its culture. The precursors developed journalistic organs in the Galician language and thus prepared the ground for the arrival of the full Rexurdimento (Resurgence). Manuel Murguía (1833-1923) did not stand out as a writer in Galician but he was one of the most important figures of this period of change in Galicia. He was one of the best defenders of Galician and lays the foundations that allow Galicia to be defined as a nation. In 1886 he publishes the book Los Precursores, work in which he describes various characters from Galician cultural life, such as Antolín Faraldo, Aurelio Aguirre, Leonardo Sánchez Deus, Félix Moreno Astray, Eduardo Pondal, Antonio Cendón, Rosalía Castro, Serafín Avendaño and finally, Benito Vicetto. This grants this generation of 1846 the “discovery” of Galicia. To learn more visit this page Galicia Digital.

Faraldo.- Antolín Faraldo Asorey was a Galician writer and journalist and one of the fathers of the Galician provincialist movement of the first half of the 19th century and precursor of the literary movement. To find out more visit this page Consello da Cultura Galega. Or this other one in Spanish of the Real Academia de la Historia.

Brañas.- Alfredo José Francisco Higinio Brañas Menéndez was a writer and ideologue of Galician regionalism in the 19th century. To know more visit this page in Spanish of the Real Academia de la Historia.

Rosalía.- Rosalía de Castro. The writer from whom it all started. You have information and links about it in our article: Aniversario de nacemento de Rosalía de Castro. Don’t stop listening “Negra sombra”, our funky version.

Curros.- Manuel Curros Enríquez was a Galician poet and journalist, one of the three main representatives of the Rexurdimento of Galician literature, along with Rosalía de Castro and Eduardo Pondal. To know more visit this page in Spanish of the Real Academia de la Historia. OOr this other one also in Spanish from the Xunta. We can also see this Wikipedia page in English.

Pondal.- Eduardo María González-Pondal Abente was a Galician regionalist poet, in Spanish and Galician. A fragment of his poem “Os Pinos” constitutes the lyrics of the Anthem of Galicia. He was one of the three great lyrical voices of the Rexurdimento, along with Rosalía de Castro and Manuel Curros Enríquez. To learn more visit this page Literatura Galega. Or this other one also in Spanish from Real Academia de la Historia. We can access this video on youtube in which Méndez Ferrín talks about Pondal. We can also see this Wikipedia page in English.

Mártires de Carral.- The military rebels in various parts of Galicia in 1846 against President Narváez, who were executed on April 26 in the Coruña town of Carral, are known as Carral Martyrs. To learn more visit this page Cultura Galega. Or this other one Galicia Digital. In Spanish we have this page of the newspaper El Ideal Gallego. Also in Spanish this other page of Recreación de la Historia.

Vilar Ponte.- Antón Vilar Ponte was one of the founders of one of the first Irmandades da Fala and one of the main supporters of pre-war Galicianism. He studied pharmacy, even though he also practiced journalism. His work covered various fields (novels, essays, conferences, speeches, etc.) and especially dramatic production, a transmitter of Galician ideology. To learn more visit this page Galicia Espallada. In Spanish this other page of Recreación de la Historia. We can also see this Wikipedia page in English.

Cabanillas.- Ramón Cabanillas Enríquez, writer and author of rapid popular and academic recognition. Cabanillas led Galician poetry towards modernity and his work was considered from the first moments within the canon of Galician literature. Admired, even idolized, by the main leaders of the Irmandades da Fala, it is in relation to that movement that we must situate his work. Even though for some critics he is part of the Generation between two centuries together with Antonio Noriega Varela, the truth is that Cabanillas can also be fully considered as “the poet of Nós”. In short, placing him as “the poet of the Irmandades” seems the best of all the options, since it is the one that most responds both to the chronology of his work and to the thematic-stylistic attitude that is manifested in it, always in the direction of lyrically representing the “interests” and “needs” of nationalism and thus in the search for a national aesthetic. To find out more visit this page Consello da Cultura Galega. Or this other one Real Academia Galega.

Alexandre Bóveda.- Alexandre Bóveda Iglesias was one of the most relevant Galician intellectuals of the Second Spanish Republic in Galicia, becoming the engine of the Galician Party according to Castelao’s own words. To find out more visit this page on YouTube, where we have this reading of Alexandre Bóveda’s last letter, read by his son Xosé Luis Bóveda. Here is an interesting link to the Fundación Alexandre Bóveda. Or this other one in Spanish by Juan Oliver from Público. We can also see this Wikipedia page in English.

Castelao de Rianxo.- Alfonso Daniel Manuel Rodríguez Castelao is considered the Father of Galician nationalism. Castelao was an intellectual committed to the land and the country. In the person of him the facets of Galician narrator, essayist, playwright, cartoonist and politician were combined, becoming the most important figure of the Galician culture of the 20th century. To learn more visit this page Wikipedia, quite complete. An interesting page is the Afundación Abanca, which has part of Castelao’s work. Or this other one Cultura Galega. We can also see this Wikipedia page in English.

An interesting page that collects many of the myths and heroes of Galician culture that Manuel María speaks of can be seen on this page.

And do not forget to visit the Wikipedia to search for information on each topic discussed.

If you want to see more lyrics from the album “A voz do vento” click HERE.