Hasta Siempre by Nathalie Cardone
Posted on November 21st, 2008 by Richard Catto 1,151 views
This haunting balad is a tribute to Che Guevara written in 1965 by Cuban composer Carlos Puebla, and performed by Nathalie Cardone, a French / Spanish actress and singer.
Spanish Lyrics to Hasta Siempre!
Apprendimos a quererte
Desde la histórica altura
Donde el sol de tu bravura
Le puso cerco a la muerte
Aqui se queda la clara
La entrañable transparencia
De tu querida presencia
Comandante Che Guevara
Vienes quemando la brisa
Con soles de primavera
Para plantar la bandera
Con la luz de tu sonrisa
Refrain
Tu amor revolucionario
Te conduce a nueva empresa
Donde esperan la firmeza
De tu brazo libertario
Refrain
Seguiremos adelante
Como junto a ti seguimos
Y con Fidel te decimos
“Hasta Siempre Comandante”
English Lyrics to Hasta Siempre!
We learned to love you
from the heights of history
with the sun of your bravery
you laid siege to death
Chorus:
The deep (or beloved) transparency of your presence
became clear here
Commandante Che Guevara
Your glorious and strong hand
fires at history
when all of Santa Clara
awakens to see you
Chorus
You come burning the winds
with spring suns
to plant the flag
with the light of your smile
Chorus
Your revolutionary love
leads you to a new undertaking
where they are awaiting the firmness
of your liberating arm
Chorus
We will carry on
as we did along with you
and with Fidel we say to you:
Until Always, Commandante!
Chorus
Lyrics/Music: Carlos Puebla, 1965 (Cuba)
Tags: Che Guevara, Nathalie Cardone
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Who was Ernesto “Che” Guevara?
Posted on November 21st, 2008 by Richard Catto 1,137 views
In an earlier thread about Barack Obama, Che Guevara was briefly discussed and it became clear to me that we have forgotten who he was and what he stood for.
One commenter described Che as a terrrorist. Nothing can be further from the truth. Che Guevara was never a terrorist. He was a guerrilla fighter, which is an entirely different thing to a terrorist. A guerrilla fights an unconventional war against a much larger and better equipped national army for the purposes of liberating that nation from an oppressive government. Che never employed the methods of terror that delineates a terrorist, such as car bombs and random acts of terror on innocent civilian populations.
I have found (and watched) an excellent 90 minute documentary which tells what it claims is the true story of Che Guevara. I recommend watching it. It will inform you and give you valuable insight into how the Eisenhower and Kennedy administations were involved with the transformation of Cuba into what it now is. It shows how in the early 1950s, the United States was effectively raping Latin America, which sowed the seeds for violent revolution.
American foreign policy in Latin America and Africa was not in the best interests of those regions at that time. Rather they were styled to benefit only Americans in the short term. In the long term, they created more problems which we still struggle with today.
Che Guevara was captured and executed in Bolivia. He was murdered. He was not treated in accordance with the Geneva convention with respect to captured combatants. Nor was he ever tried. The president of then Bolivia, René Barrientos, ordered his execution. In modern Bolivia, Che Guevara is honoured and respected. Evo Morales, the current president of Bolivia, states in the video that modern Bolivia needs a man like Che now.
Che remains a powerful icon today of revolution in the face of injustice and failed American imperialism. My hope is that the Obama administration will do much to undo the damage that generations of unjust American foreign policy has perpetrated on the world.
Memorable Che Guevara quotes:
“I don’t care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting.”
“If you tremble indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine.”
“Until victory always.”
“Silence is argument carried out by other means.”
“The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.”
“Cruel leaders are replaced only to have new leaders turn cruel!”
“In fact, if Christ himself stood in my way, I, like Nietzsche, would not hesitate to squish him like a worm.”
“Many will call me an adventurer – and that I am, only one of a different sort: one of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes.”
“Whenever death may surprise us, let it be welcome if our battle cry has reached even one receptive ear and another hand reaches out to take up our arms.”
“We are overcome by anguish at this illogical moment of humanity.”
“It is not just a simple game, it is a weapon of the revolution.”
“Better to die standing, than to live on your knees.”
“I don’t know if the Cuban revolution will survive or not. It’s difficult to say. But [if it doesn't] … don’t come looking for me among the refugees in the embassies. I’ve had that experience, and I’m not ever going to repeat it. I will go out with a machine gun in my hand, to the barricades … I’ll keep fighting to the end.”
“Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.”
“It’s a sad thing not to have friends, but it is even sadder not to have enemies.”
Che’s last words:
“I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.”
Tags: Che Guevara
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