Four Afro-Cuban Songs: II. Tú No Sabe Inglé

("Tú No Sabe Inglé" is 2:00-5:00)

Program Note: "Odaline de la Martínez’s Four Afro-Cuban Poems are based on four poems taken from Nicolas Guillen’s 'Motivos de Son' (1930.) The work was strongly influenced by his meeting that year with the African American poet Langston Hughes. 

Tú No Sabe Inglé (You Do Not Speak English) is about a woman teases and tells Victor Manuel to stop boasting about his English, because he doesn’t even know how to say 'yes.' An American woman is looking for him, but he must get away because his English is down to strike one, two, three. She warns him not to fall in love with her because he doesn’t speak English.”

Ensemble: Mezzo Soprano and String Orchestra

Homophony / Parallel Motion: The string orchestra plays homophonic accompaniment in parallel motion, underneath the Mezzo Soprano's vocal lines!

Lyrics / Translation:
Con tanto inglé que tú sabía,
Bito Manué,
con tanto inglé, no sabe ahora
desí ye.

La mericana te buca,
y tú le tiene que huí:
tu inglé era de etrái guan,
de etrái guan y guan tu tri.

        -Nicolás Guillen, Motivos de son (1930)

All dat English you used to know,
Li’l Manuel,
all dat English, now can’t even
say: Yes.

‘Merican gal comes lookin’ fo’ you
an’ you jes’ runs away
Yo’ English is jes’ strike one!
strike one and one-two-three.

        -Langston Hughes’s translation, published in Cuba Libre (1948)