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Febrero 26, 2006

Carnaval Morenada

In honor of Carnaval of Oruro, which continues as I write this, I present this mp3 of one of the most well-recognized morenada rhythms.

Morenada - Cuanto cuestas, cuanto vales?

Cuanto cuestas, cuanto vales, amor mio?
Si tu quieres yo te pago
pero nunca, nunca me olvides

Como no voy a llorar?
Como no voy a sufrir?
Orureñita de mi alma
Por ti yo ando llorando

The morenada comes from Potosi and is related to the African slaves who were brought to work in the mines. According to this article,

The morenada was the first African dance in Bolivia. Dr. Julia Elena Fortun describes that this dance came out of the Potosi mines during colonial times. The dance represents the reaction of the African slaves to seeing snowfall for the first time...

..the outfits symbolize snow upon metal, while the white wigs represent the snow in their hair.

Posted by eduardo at Febrero 26, 2006 10:20 PM

Comments

Eduardo tenés esa morenada? podés enviarmela a tropera.cosmica@gmail.com por favor?

Muchísimas gracias!

Pd.- La pintura es de Edgar Ramiro Mendieta

Posted by: Lauren at Febrero 27, 2006 06:03 PM

THANKS FOR THE EXPLANATION OF 'MORENADA' - http://davidleewilson.blogspot.com/2005/12/bolivia-evo-morales.html

Posted by: David Wilson at Marzo 1, 2006 04:48 PM

During my last trip to Bolivia, my friends and relatives helped me catch up with carnival music. The great morenada hit of the moment (Carnival 2005 and undoubtedly 2006) was Brujita from Llajtaymanta[1].

Incidentally, Llajtaymanta is increasingly getting wider recognition. Even a friend from Cochabamba who used to mock all things Oruro learned some Llajtaymanta lyrics.

[1] http://www.amdns.com.ar/l/llajtaymanta/brujita.shtml

Posted by: Alexey at Marzo 3, 2006 06:31 PM

The Morenada actually has a long tradition in La Paz and it is identified mostly with the Gran Poder. The slaves in the mines of Potosi woul die of cold and were brought to the Yungas of La Paz .What I have always heard from the comparsas and others was that it is originally from the town of "Taraco" on the shore of Titicaca Lake and it is true about the African origin and if you see movies about colonial times you will find the black slaves (the uncle tom types) dressed in fine clothes that resemble the Moreno customes(the old ones, the new ones have so many decorations that look like chinese dragons). I have heard also that the fishermen in Taraco gave it a particular meaning, specially with the "Matraca" in the shape of fish.

Posted by: Gilber Mamani at Abril 24, 2006 04:51 AM

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