TED2012
Abigail Washburn: Building US-China relations ... by banjo
Abigail Washburn: Construyendo relaciones EE.UU.China... con el banjo
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Abigail Washburn, TED Fellow, quería ser abogada para mejorar las relaciones entre EE.UU. y China... hasta que compró un banjo. Aquí cuenta una historia conmovedora de los contactos extraordinarios que ha forjado en su recorrido por Estados Unidos y China mientras tocaba el banjo y cantaba en chino.
Abigail Washburn - Clawhammer banjo player
Abigail Washburn pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, creating results that feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything anybody's ever heard before. Full bio
Abigail Washburn pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, creating results that feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything anybody's ever heard before. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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If you had caught me straight out of college
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Si me hubieran viso cuando salí de la universidad
00:17
in the halls of the Vermont State House
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en los pasillos de la Vermont State House
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where I was a lobbyist in training
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donde me entrenaba para hacer lobby
00:22
and asked me what I was going to do with my life,
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y me hubieran preguntado qué iba a hacer con mi vida,
00:24
I would have told you
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yo les habría contestado
00:26
that I'd just passed the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi,
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que acababa de pasar el Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi,
00:28
the Chinese equivalency exam,
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el examen de chino,
00:30
and I was going to go study law in Beijing,
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que iba a estudiar derecho en Pekín,
00:33
and I was going to improve U.S.-China relations
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y que iba a mejorar las relaciones entre EE.UU. y China
00:37
through top-down policy changes
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cambiando políticas, con enfoque vertical,
00:39
and judicial system reforms.
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y reformando el sistema judicial.
00:41
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
00:44
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
00:46
I had a plan,
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Yo tenía un plan
00:49
and I never ever thought
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y nunca imaginé
00:52
it would have anything to do
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que tendría que ver
00:54
with the banjo.
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con el banjo.
00:58
Little did I know
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No podía imaginar
01:00
what a huge impact it would have on me one night
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el gran impacto que recibiría
01:02
when I was at a party
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una noche en una fiesta;
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and I heard a sound coming out of a record player
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escuché el sonido de un tocadiscos
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in the corner of a room.
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en una esquina de la habitación.
01:08
And it was Doc Watson
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Era Doc Watson
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singing and playing "Shady Grove."
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que cantaba y tocaba "Shady Grove".
01:13
♫ Shady Grove, my little love ♫
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♫ Shady Grove, amorcito ♫
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♫ Shady Grove, my darlin' ♫
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♫ Shady Grove, mi amada ♫
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♫ Shady Grove, my little love ♫
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♫ Shady Grove, amorcito ♫
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♫ Going back to Harlan ♫
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♫ Regresando a Harlan ♫
01:24
That sound was just so beautiful,
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El sonido era tan hermoso,
01:27
the sound of Doc's voice
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el sonido de la voz de Doc
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and the rippling groove of the banjo.
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y el ritmo estremecedor del banjo.
01:33
And after being totally and completely obsessed
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Y después de una total obsesión
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with the mammoth richness and history
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por la vasta riqueza y la historia
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of Chinese culture,
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de la cultura china,
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it was like this total relief
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fue un gran alivio
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to hear something so truly American
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poder oír algo tan estadounidense
01:48
and so truly awesome.
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y tan impresionante.
01:51
I knew I had to take a banjo with me to China.
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Supe que tenía que llevar un banjo a China.
01:56
So before going to law school in China
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Así que antes de ir a la facultad de derecho en China,
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I bought a banjo, I threw it in my little red truck
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compré un banjo, lo puse en mi camioneta roja
02:01
and I traveled down through Appalachia
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y crucé los Apalaches
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and I learned a bunch of old American songs,
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y aprendí muchas viejas canciones de EE.UU.,
02:06
and I ended up in Kentucky
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hasta que terminé en Kentucky
02:08
at the International Bluegrass Music Association Convention.
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en la Convención Internacional de la Asociación de Música Bluegrass.
02:11
And I was sitting in a hallway one night
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Una noche estaba sentada en un pasillo
02:14
and a couple girls came up to me.
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y se me acercó un par de chicas.
02:16
And they said, "Hey, do you want to jam?"
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Me preguntaron si quería tocar con ellas
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And I was like, "Sure."
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y les dije: "Claro".
02:20
So I picked up my banjo
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Así que tomé mi banjo
02:22
and I nervously played four songs that I actually knew with them.
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y a pesar de los nervios toqué cuatro canciones con ellas.
02:25
And a record executive walked up to me
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Un productor de música que pasaba por ahí
02:27
and invited me to Nashville, Tennessee to make a record.
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me invitó a Nashville, Tennessee, para grabar un disco.
02:30
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
02:37
It's been eight years,
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Han pasado ocho años
02:41
and I can tell you that I didn't go to China to become a lawyer.
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y les puedo asegurar que nunca fui a China a estudiar leyes.
02:45
In fact, I went to Nashville.
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De hecho, fui a Nashville.
02:47
And after a few months I was writing songs.
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Y después de unos cuantos meses ya estaba escribiendo canciones.
02:50
And the first song I wrote was in English,
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La primera canción que compuse fue en inglés,
02:52
and the second one was in Chinese.
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y la segunda en chino.
02:56
(Music)
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(Música)
02:59
[Chinese]
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外面有个世界，心中个有个声音, 不妨等你来了，游历，游历。
03:09
Outside your door the world is waiting.
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Afuera, el mundo espera.
03:11
Inside your heart a voice is calling.
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Adentro, en tu corazón, una voz te llama.
03:13
The four corners of the world are watching,
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Las cuatro esquinas del mundo te miran,
03:15
so travel daughter, travel.
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así que viaja hija, viaja.
03:18
Go get it, girl.
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Hazlo, tú puedes nena.
03:20
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
03:29
It's really been eight years since that fated night in Kentucky.
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Ya han pasado ocho años desde aquella noche en Kentucky.
03:33
And I've played thousands of shows.
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Y he tocado en miles de presentaciones.
03:35
And I've collaborated
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He colaborado
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with so many incredible, inspirational musicians around the world.
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con músicos increíbles e inspiradores de todo el mundo.
03:41
And I see the power of music.
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Y puedo ver el poder la música.
03:43
I see the power of music
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Veo el poder de la música
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to connect cultures.
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para conectar culturas.
03:47
I see it when I stand on a stage
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Lo veo cuando en el escenario
03:49
in a bluegrass festival in east Virginia
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de un festival de bluegrass en Virginia Oriental
03:51
and I look out at the sea of lawn chairs
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miro el mar de sillas del público
03:53
and I bust out into a song in Chinese.
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y de repente empiezo a cantar una canción en chino.
03:56
[Chinese]
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太阳出来了啊，喜洋洋啊我。
03:59
And everybody's eyes just pop wide open
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Y todos se quedan con los ojos abiertos
04:02
like it's going to fall out of their heads.
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como si se les fueran a salir de sus órbitas.
04:05
And they're like, "What's that girl doing?"
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Y piensan: "¿Qué le pasa a esta chica?
04:07
And then they come up to me after the show
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Pero después de la presentación se me acercan
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and they all have a story.
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y todos tienen una historia para compartir.
04:12
They all come up and they're like,
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Todos llegan y me cuentan cosas como:
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"You know, my aunt's sister's babysitter's dog's chicken went to China
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"el pollo del perro de la niñera de la hermana de mi tía fue a China
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and adopted a girl."
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y adoptó una niña".
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And I tell you what, it like everybody's got a story.
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En serio les digo, parece que todo el mundo tiene su historia.
04:24
It's just incredible.
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Es increíble.
04:27
And then I go to China
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Así que me fui a China
04:29
and I stand on a stage at a university
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y estando en un escenario de la universidad
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and I bust out into a song in Chinese
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empiezo a cantar una canción en Chino
04:34
and everybody sings along
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y todo el mundo tararea conmigo
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and they roar with delight
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y todos se emocionan
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at this girl
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al verme
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with the hair and the instrument,
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con mi gran cabello y el banjo,
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and she's singing their music.
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cantando su música.
04:47
And I see, even more importantly,
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Pero veo algo más importante:
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the power of music to connect hearts.
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el poder de la música para conectar corazones.
04:54
Like the time I was in Sichuan Province
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Como la vez que estaba en la provincia de Sichuan
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and I was singing for kids in relocation schools
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cantando para los niños en una escuela-refugio
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in the earthquake disaster zone.
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en una zona propensa a los terremotos.
05:02
And this little girl comes up to me.
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Y una niñita se me acerca
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[Chinese]
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"王大姐，可以给你唱一下我妈妈教我的歌曲?"
05:11
"Big sister Wong,"
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"Hermana Wong",
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Washburn, Wong, same difference.
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Washburn o Wong, no importa
05:17
"Big sister Wong, can I sing you a song
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"Hermana Wong, ¿Puedo cantarle una canción
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that my mom sang for me
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que mi mamá me cantaba
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before she was swallowed in the earthquake?"
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antes de morir en el terremoto?"
05:26
And I sat down,
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Yo me senté,
05:28
she sat on my lap.
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ella se sentó en mi regazo.
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She started singing her song.
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Y empezó a cantar su canción.
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And the warmth of her body
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Y sentí el calor de su cuerpo
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and the tears rolling down her rosy cheeks,
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y las lágrimas que rodaban por sus mejillas,
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and I started to cry.
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y empecé a llorar.
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And the light that shone off of her eyes
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Pude haberme quedado eternamente
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was a place I could have stayed forever.
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en la luz que emanaba de sus ojos.
05:51
And in that moment, we weren't our American selves,
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Y en ese momento, ya no éramos de EE.UU.,
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we weren't our Chinese selves,
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ni chinas,
05:56
we were just mortals
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éramos simples mortales
06:00
sitting together in that light that keeps us here.
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sentadas en esa luz que nos cubría.
06:05
I want to dwell in that light
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Quiero vivir bajo esa luz
06:09
with you and with everyone.
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contigo y con todo el mundo.
06:11
And I know U.S.-China relations
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Porque sé que las relaciones entre EE.UU.y China
06:13
doesn't need another lawyer.
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no necesitan otra abogada.
06:15
Thank you.
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Gracias.
06:17
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Abigail Washburn - Clawhammer banjo playerAbigail Washburn pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, creating results that feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything anybody's ever heard before.
Why you should listen
If American old-time music is about adopting earlier, simpler ways of life and music-making, Abigail has proven herself a bracing challenge to that tradition. A singing, songwriting, Chinese-speaking, Illinois-born, Nashville-based, clawhammer banjo player, Abigail is every bit as interested in the present and the future as she is in the past, and every bit as attuned to the global as she is to the local. From the recovery zones of earthquake-shaken Sichuan to the hollers of Tennessee, she pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, and the results feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything anybody’s ever heard before. To put it another way, she changes what seems possible.
More profile about the speakerAbigail Washburn | Speaker | TED.com