The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #66670 Message #2045829
Posted By: Joe Offer
08-May-07 - 01:49 AM
Thread Name: BS: Changing the World
Subject: RE: BS: Changing the World
I asked a friend of mine to explain the post from Alex. Here's his reply:
Joe, the guest quotes the chorus of a folk song about coca from Colombia, and wants the rest of the song and the composer. Daylia's post discusses the song, gives a translation of the chorus, and links an article on the subject (does not have the rest of the song and no information on it). The article gives the sad story of one area of coca cultivation; the same situation is found elsewhere in South America. The guest Alex makes a comment I can't quite translate about coca- whether it is good or bad- which is a much discussed matter in Colombia, Bolivia and elsewhere in the region. The work of the indios is so hard and their environment so difficult that some argue that the coca is necessary to their existence.
Coca was used in pre-Columbian times, but the processing for cocaine, etc. has developed much as the linked article states.
In any case, there is nothing in the post that doesn't belong in Mudcat- it's too bad that we don't have a translation to go with it. Sorry, but I don't have the ability to give a good translation that could be added to the thread.