Origins: Carnavalito

Subject: Origins: Carnavalito
From: chico
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 06:59 PM

Origins and Translation requested:

  (Em D Em, G B7 Em)
    
           Em               C         D             G  
  |: Llegando está el carnaval quebradeño, mi cholita :|
  
  Em         D7     G     D7     G    B7    Em
  Fiesta de la quebrada humahuaqueña para bailar 
  Erke, charango y bombo carnavalito para bailar, 
    C          D7        G    C          D7         G 
  Quebradeño humahuaqueñito, Quebradeño humahuaqueñito, 
   
  |: Fiesta de la quebrada humahuaqueña para bailar 
  Erke, charango y bombo carnavalito para bailar :|
  
  B7  Em    B7 Em  B7 Em
  Bailar, bailar, bailar
  
  ¡ESO!

Subject: RE: Origins: Carnavalito
From: masato sakurai
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 07:58 PM

"El Humahuaqueño (carnavalito)," copyrighted 1948, was written by Edmundo P. Zaldivar (Jr.), who died in 1978.

See the sheet music cover here.

Subject: RE: Origins: Carnavalito
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 08:41 PM

CARNIVALITO
(partial translation- need Escamillo since this is an Argentine-Bolivian song)

I'm going to the carnival
--- (2x)
The Festival of the Humahuaqueno Valley
To sing (with)
The erke, charango and bombo,
To dance at the little carnival
La, la, la, la, la, ---

erke- musical instrument, a long cane tube with a bell-shaped horn at the end. Used like an alpenhorn; the tube 3-5 meters long.
Charango- a small lute, either made from the shell of an armadillo or wood.
Bombo- a drum

The second line says something about a small valley, but cholitá defeats me. The site with translation says only "My little ravine," but something is lacking. Local dialect?

http://www.rogertincknell.com/carnlyrics.html

Subject: RE: Origins: Carnavalito
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 08:58 PM

Zaldivar's song (Indian-Creole dance) is probably the original, but I think it differs somewhat from the Roger Tincknell lyrics given by Chico.:

El Humahuaqueno
Llegande este carnaval quebradeño mi choritay (2x)
Fiesta de la quebrada Humahuaqueno para cantar
elque charango y bombo carnivalito para bailar
quebradeño Humahuaquenito quebradeño Humahuaquenito
Fiesta de la quebrada Humahuaqueno para cantar
Elque charango y bombo carnavalito para bailar.
(I have assumed that these are Zaldivar's lyrics)

http://www.necsoft.co.jp/takefu/2002/live/humahuaqueno.html

Subject: RE: Origins: Carnavalito
From: GUEST,gary
Date: 22 Jun 09 - 08:57 PM

Cholita is an affectionate term for a young woman of at least partial indigenous culture or origin. Cholitay, choritay are local pronunciations of this. "Mi cholita" could be translated as "my girl."

Subject: RE: Origins: Carnavalito
From: michaelr
Date: 22 Jun 09 - 10:50 PM

Correcto - derived from cholo = dark-skinned.

Subject: RE: Origins: Carnavalito
From: ST
Date: 05 May 18 - 04:20 AM

Since I'm considering adding this one to the 'not quite copyright safe' section of my programme, here are some findings.

Carnavalito is a kind of dance and the accompanying songs originating from what is now Bolivia and the northern provinces of Argentine, including the province of Jujuy where the Quebrada de Humahuaca (Humahuaca Valley) and the city of Humahuaca are located. Pre-dating both the Spanish invasion and all those pesky amps, the dance is performed by a row of dancers circling around a group of musicians. According to Edmundo Porteño Zaldívar (h.) himself, the moves are

1º Círculo - 2º Alas - 3º Puente - 4º Círculo II - 5º Molino - 6º Canasta - 7º Círculo III - 8º Rueda - 9º Calles - 10º Desarme - 11º Volteretas - 12º Caracol y final.

The good news is that there are many carnavalito songs out there, and some of them are at least as good if not equally well-known worldwide.

Also, the proper title for this song is El Humahuaqueño, as there's a different song titled Carnavalito even in the list of E. P. Z.'s works alone.

Cholo seems to mean "of mixed racial descent", used both as an insult (so watch your tongue!) and, in Andes, as a term of affection. This makes chola "a mestizo woman", and cholita "[my dear] mestizo girl".

Now, cholitay is special. They say that this -y is a Quechua suffix meaning "my" that made its way into the kind of Spanish spoken in the aforementioned regions. Therefore, 'mi cholitay' seems to be an error as it would sound as "my my little girl" to a native, er, Quechuañol speaker. The right use of the -y is found, e. g., in another carnavalito called Hasta otro día: 'Yo no te ofrezco grandezas, viday' ("I don't offer you grandeur, my life").

As the closest I've ever come to learning Spanish was a two-semester course in Classical Latin, I don't dare to offer a translation but hope these scraps of knowledge might help someone with greater skills.

Any leads to places where more carnavalitos or other South American songs may be found would be greatly appreciated, too. Should anyone be interested in Hasta otro día lyrics, I'd be glad to share the version I've got.

Subject: RE: Origins: Carnavalito
From: Monique
Date: 05 May 18 - 06:06 AM

Frank gave a correct translation in his post above, except for the beginning: "Llegando está el carnaval quebradeño..." means "The valley carnival is coming..."

Subject: RE: Origins: Carnavalito
From: Monique
Date: 05 May 18 - 06:36 AM

Yikes! I read too fast! "Humahuaqueño" means "from Huamahuaca". So "Llegando está el carnaval quebradeño, mi cholita / Fiesta de la quebrada humahuaqueña para bailar / Erke, charango y bombo carnavalito para bailar" means "The valley carnival is coming, my cholita, the Humahuaca valley's festival to dance, erke, charango and drum; carnavalito to dance.

Subject: RE: Origins: Carnavalito
From: ST
Date: 05 May 18 - 07:02 AM

Thanks a lot, Monique!

Only the festival is probably to sing first; it seems to be 'Fiesta de la quebrada humahuaqueña para cantar' in EPZ y su conjunto's recording if I'm not mistaken.

Subject: RE: Origins: Carnavalito
From: Monique
Date: 05 May 18 - 09:03 AM

Indeed they sing "para cantar".