Jorge Drexler: Poetry, music and identity
خورخي دريكسلر: الشعر والموسيقى والهوية
Jorge Drexler is a musician and the first Uruguayan to win an Oscar. His music plays with genre and influence, combining subtle harmonies and regional styles with electronic effects. Full bio
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that you need to put into a song.
عليك وضعها في أغنية.
was a circular coaster,
my teacher dictated.
living among Christians
nor who my brothers are."
an impression on me.
Joaquín. Did you write them?"
named Chicho Sánchez Ferlosio,
but also a great poet.
كنت أريد أن أتكلم عنه،
to express something for a while,
and go home to write,
أعود إلى المنزل وأكتب
and said, "Hang on, hang on,"
sure what Décimas were,
to tell my teacher I didn't know.
أنني لا أعرفها.
"Yeah, I totally understand" face,
what Décimas were.
that we have in Spanish.
date of origin,
a musician and poet from Málaga.
لقد كان الشخص نفسه
he was the same guy
لما سمي لاحقا بالقيثارة الإسبانية.
the Spanish guitar.
just like the Spanish guitar,
تماما مثل القيتارة الإسبانية،
from Mexico to Chile,
من المكسيك إلى الشيلي،
some form of the Décima
عدة أنواع من الديسيما
a different name,
more than 20 in total on the continent.
أكثر من عشرين اسم بالقارة.
it's called the "Son Jarocho,"
"سون خاروتشو" بالمكسيك،
so integrated into our traditions,
from each place are completely convinced
in their country.
that it developed independently
400 years after its creation,
بعد أكثر من 400 سنة من إنشائها،
syllable and line structure --
نفس بنية القافية، المقاطع والأبيات.
during the Spanish Baroque period.
and then later you can look online
لمعرفة المزيد...
each line has eight syllables.
ثماني مقاطع بكل بيت.
with the fourth and the fifth;
with the seventh and the tenth;
trying to write in Décimas.
أن أكتب الديسيما.
with the same structure
an impressive musicality to it,
لأن بها موسيقية مثيرة وجذابة.
أن تصف من الناحية الفنية.
that I wrote for this song.
ديسيما كتبتها لهذه الأغنية.
just on the musicality of the rhymes.
to the translation --
it you have them.
إذا كانوا لديكم،
of the words for a few seconds,
the choreography of sound of the Décima.
انظروا للأمر من هذا القبيل.
that does not cause me pain,
ليس هناك جانب الفائزون.
وحياة أخرى في مهب الريح.
and another life blown away.
no matter what the disguise,
كيفما كان تنكرها،
under any flag,
than a sad piece of cloth."
your headphones back on.
because here it is 426 years later,
ولازالت الديسيما نفسها في كل مكان.
you just heard the second.
recently learned how,
على طريقتها الصحيحة.
in its current state.
أكثر أو أقل.
a concert in Israel,
في إسرائيل،
that hits really close to home,
تمسني جدا، عن كثب،
are non-practicing Christians.
where the two traditions lived together
يرتدي زي سانتا كلوز، على سبيل المثال.
dressed as Santa Claus, for example,
في الكنيسة يرتدي كيباه،
at the synagogue wearing his kippah,
expression that I probably had
in that kind of environment,
في بيئة مماثلة
the difficulty the opposing parties have
side's shoes even for a moment.
الذي كان الديسيما، والمحتوى.
and the content.
where I'm from, to Spain.
who are away from home.
هم بعيدين عن بلدانهم.
to be very, very Uruguayan,
there is -- the milonga.
التي توجد هي الميلونغا.
and after finding out
ويعتقد الجميع انه اخترعها،
the Décima as their own,
هي أوروغوايية الأصل؟
the milonga is Uruguayan?
that we musicians call 3-3-2.
one two three, one two.
واحد اثنين ثلاثة، 1و 2و3، 1و 2.
in the brothels of Persia,
نجده ببيوت الدعارة في بلاد فارس،
five centuries later,
with the African slaves.
it encounters the Roma scale --
في البلقان بمقياس الغجر...
to klezmer music,
bring to Brooklyn, New York.
an Argentine kid of Italian origin
of the second half of the 20th century
من القرن 20 مع ...
واحد اثنين ثلاثة، واحد اثنين.
one two three, one two.
a 19th-century German instrument
أداة ألمانية من القرن 19
that weren't allowed to buy organs,
المقدرة لشراء جهاز الأورغ
بشكل لا يصدق في ريو دي لا بلاتا
in Río de la Plata,
of the tango and the milonga,
بشكل لا يصدق،
just as important as the bandoneon did:
Vicente Espinel, in the 16th century,
فيسينتي إسبينل، في القرن 16
are coming full circle.
أن شكلت دائرة مغلقة.
since the song was born
منذ ولدت الأغنية
with four lines written on a coaster
مكتوبة على الوقايات
is infinitely dense,
after a concert.
and that everywhere I go I ask about it,
for me at their house.
ابن جاروشو هو أحد من أنواع الموسيقى
is one of the styles of music
finished playing
من العزف
which is the son jarocho,
for their gift of music,
of intentions -- he says,
alive the purest origins
I didn't really know what to say.
I gave him a hug and left, but ...
عانقته وغادرت، ولكن ...
but at the same time,
ولكن في الوقت نفسه،
and in the Décima,
from all over the place, like he said.
من أماكن أخرى، كما قال لي.
I thought about it for a while.
عندما وصلت إلى الفندق، كنت أفكر،
to know about our roots,
to understand our history.
as knowing where we're from,
in Jerusalem the golden
for every commandment.
and although I bleed through your wound,
وعلى الرغم من أنني أنزف من جروحك،
يبقي حبي أعمق،
has my deepest affection,
worth more than a human life.
who lives among Christians
nor who my brothers are.
ولا من هم إخوتي.
nor who my brothers are.
ولا من هم إخوتي.
cause me pain, there are no winners
وليس هناك جانب الفائزين.
and another life blown away.
وحياة أخرى في مهب الريح.
no matter what the disguise,
لا يهم بما تتنكر،
under any flag,
than a sad piece of cloth.
who lives among Christians
nor who my brothers are.
nor who my brothers are.
to for killing in my name,
and if there is a God, this was his wish,
وإذا كان هناك إله، فإنه أراد ذلك.
will live on, once I am gone
ستستمر بالوجود بعد رحيلي
will suffer the same fate,
that has not proclaimed itself
who lives among Christians
nor who my brothers are.
nor who my brothers are.
who lives among Christians
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jorge Drexler - Musician, poetJorge Drexler is a musician and the first Uruguayan to win an Oscar. His music plays with genre and influence, combining subtle harmonies and regional styles with electronic effects.
Why you should listen
Jorge Drexler doesn't lay claim to one identity over another. Born to a German-Jewish exile father and a Uruguayan mother, Drexler grew up in Uruguay, traveled widely across Latin America and eventually settled in Spain. Within his music, you can hear touches of milonga and bossa nova and even Bach, as his lyrics wrangle with notions of nationality and belonging, language, identity and love.
Like both of his parents, Drexler started his career as a physician, but at the age of 30, he decided to pursue music full-time. The release of his fifth album, Frontera, caught the attention of Brazilian director Walter Salles, who tapped him to write the closing song for the 2004 film Motorcycle Diaries. Titled "Al Otro Lado del Río" (The Other Side of the River), the song won Drexler an Academy Award for Best Original Song and propelled him into the international spotlight.
Over the course of his 25-year career, Jorge Drexler has produced 12 albums, received 15 Latin Grammy nomination (with two wins in 2014 Record of the Year and Best Singer-Songwriter Album), four US Grammy nominations, 5 ASCAP Latin Awards, and one Academy Award. He has also collaborated with musicians from Shakira to Mercedes Sosa to Neneh Cherry and Jovanotti.
Jorge Drexler | Speaker | TED.com