Cardo o ceniza
"Cardo o ceniza" (translated "thistle or ash") is a song written and performed by Chabuca Granda. It was written in 1973 and tells of the passionate desire and shame felt by Chilean singer-songwriter Violeta Parra after being rejected by her lover, Gilbert Favre. Composition. Granda wrote "Cardo o ceniza" in 1973 while living in Mexico. She wrote several songs about the Chilean singer-songwriter Violeta Parra, who committed suicide in 1967. Granda had not met Parra, but her death had deeply touched Granda who called it an "irreparable" tragedy. The song's musical composition is in  the form of a landó, a sensual and rhythmic style of the Peruvian coast. Singer Tania Libertad, who later covered the song, wrote: "The letter is a permanent questioning; the sensuality and rhythmic division of the landó allow syncopation and spaces where there is room for doubt and lack of answers. That's how great Chabuca was." The song's lyrics describe the passionate desire and shame felt by Parra over her love for the Swiss musician Gilbert Favre, who was 19 years younger than Parra. Parra's suicide in 1967 has been blamed in part on her love for  Favre. Author Sara Vignolo offered an interpretation on the song: "The thistle is a showy flower with a stem and thorny leaves; it is captivating and painful like the stories of impossible love. The ash is what remains after the burning of all the ships, after the flame of all the dreams; when all the cravings burned in the embers of the flesh ... It is hell of ashamed love; offbeat, lilting, syncopated ... a forbidden dance, a drink joyful and bitter ” Lyrics. Spanish. Cómo será mi piel junto a tu piel Cómo será mi piel junto a tu piel Cardo o  ceniza Cómo será Si he de fundir mi espacio frente al tuyo Cómo será tu cuerpo al recorrerme Y cómo mi corazón si estoy de muerte Mi corazón si estoy de muerte Se quebrará mi voz cuando se apague De no poderte hablar en el oído Y quemará mi boca salivada De la sed que me queme si me besas De la sed que me queme si me besas Cómo será el gemido y cómo el grito Al escapar mi vida entre la tuya Y cómo el letargo al que me entregue Cuando adormezca el sueño entre tu sueño Han  de ser breves mis siestas Mis esteros despiertan con tus ríos Pero, pero Pero cómo serán mis despertares Cada vez que despierte avergonzada Tanto amor y avergonzada English translation. How would my skin be next to your skin Thistle or ash How would it be If I melt my space before yours How would it be for your body to transverse me And my heart if I were to expire My voice will break when it fades from not being able to speak in your ear And my mouth will burn From the thirst that burns me if you kiss  me How will the cry and the shout be When I escape my life into yours And how the languor to which I surrender When the dream sleeps between your dream My slumber must be brief My rivers awaken with yours But, but How will my awakenings be Every morning, I wake ashamed So much love and ashamed Recording history. Recordings by Granda. Granda first recorded the song for her 1974 Sono Radio album, "Chabuca Granda y ... don Luis González". Granda again performed the song in November 1977 for the program, "300 millones" of Televisión Española. She was accompanied on  the performance by Rodolfo Arteaga, Félix Casaverde, and Caitro Soto. In 1978, Granda included the song on her album, "Tarimba Negra". Granda suffered a heart attack in 1979 and was in poor health thereafter. She recorded her final album, "Cada Cancion con su Razon", in 1980 at the EMI studios in Buenos Aires. She included "Cardo y ceniza" on the album with accompaniment by Caitro Soto, Pititi Sirio, and Álvaro Lagos. Covers. The song is among the most popular in Granda's oeuvre and has been covered by many artists, including the following: Recognition. In 2017, Granda's body of  musical work was declared a part of the "Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación" ("Cultural Heritage of the Nation"). "Cardo o Ceniza" was one of the works cited in the declaration. In 2019, "La República", one of the two major national newspapers in Peru, included "Cardo y ceriza" on its list of the six best songs of Granda that have represented Peru around the world. The magazine "Caretas" also included the song in its 2020 listing of Granda's five most emblematic songs. In 2020, on the 100th anniversary of Granda's birth, Peru's Ministry of Culture published a book  on Granda's life and works, written by Rodrigo Sarmiento Herencia. Sarmiento opened the book by naming "Cardo y ceniza" among Granda's four most recognized works, demonstrating her unfading creative capacity and talent.