Uruguayan writer, Mario Benedetti, was the poet of the urban guerrilla movement of the 1960s-1980s called the Tupamaros. He died on May 17, 2009 at the age of 88. Here, the distinctive Argentine tango singer, Adriana Varela, sings a poem of his, “No Te Salves”:
No Te Salves/Don’t Save Yourself
by Mario Benedetti
No te quedes inmóvil Don’t stay motionless
al borde del camino by the way side,
no congeles el júbilo don’t freeze your joy
no quieras con desgana or love half-heartedly.
no te salves ahora Don’t save yourself now
ni nunca or ever.
no te salves Don’t save yourself,
no te llenes de calma don’t be so calm,
no reserves del mundo and in this world don’t keep
sólo un rincón tranquilo a tranquil corner,
no dejes caer los párpados or let your eyelids
pesados como juicios drop heavy with judgments.
no te quedes sin labios Don’t be left without lips,
no te duermas sin sueño don’t sleep without dreams,
no te pienses sin sangre or imagine yourself bloodless,
no te juzgues sin tiempo or judge yourself with haste.
pero si But if,
pese a todo after all,
no puedes evitarlo you can’t help it,
y congelas el júbilo and you freeze your joy,
y quieres con desgana and you love half-heartedly,
y te salvas ahora and you save yourself now;
y te llenas de calma if you stay serene,
y reservas del mundo and in the world keep
sólo un rincón tranquilo only a tranquil corner,
y dejas caer los párpados let your eyelids
pesados como juicios drop heavy as judgments,
y te secas sin labios remain without lips,
y te duermes sin sueño and sleep without dreams;
y te piensas sin sangre if you imagine yourself bloodless,
y te juzgas sin tiempo judge yourself in haste,
y te quedas inmóvil and stay motionless
al borde del camino on the side of the road,
y te salvas – and you save yourself –
entonces Then –
no te quedes conmigo. don’t stay with me.
(Mario Benedetti)
[I’ve made minor changes to the translation to make it easier to understand the sense…I apologize if that detracts from the poem for those who know it in its original form].