TED2012
Abigail Washburn: Building US-China relations ... by banjo
Abigail Washburn: Construíndo relacións entre os Estados Unidos e China... cun banjo.
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Abigail Washburn desexaba converterse en avogada para traballar na mellora das relacións entre os Estados Unidos e China, ata que colleu un banjo. Narra unha emotiva historia sobre as sorprendentes conexións que estableceu durante as súas viaxes polos Estados Unidos e China, tocando o banjo e cantando en chinés.
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.
00:15
If you had caught me straight out of college
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Se me atopasen ó rematar a universidade,
00:17
in the halls of the Vermont State House
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na Vermont State House
00:19
where I was a lobbyist in training
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onde facía prácticas para
formar parte de grupos de presión
formar parte de grupos de presión
e me preguntasen que ía
facer coa miña vida
facer coa miña vida
00:22
and asked me what I was going to do with my life,
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00:24
I would have told you
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eu contestaríalles
00:26
that I'd just passed the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi,
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que xusto aprobara o HSK,
00:28
the Chinese equivalency exam,
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o exame oficial de chinés,
00:30
and I was going to go study law in Beijing,
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e que ía estudar dereito en Pequín
00:33
and I was going to improve U.S.-China relations
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e que ía mellorar as relacións entre os EE.UU. e China
00:37
through top-down policy changes
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a través de cambios políticos de carácter vertical
00:39
and judicial system reforms.
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e mediante reformas do sistema xudicial.
00:41
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
00:44
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
00:46
I had a plan,
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Eu tiña un plan.
00:49
and I never ever thought
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E en ningún caso
pensei que tería algo que ver
00:52
it would have anything to do
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00:54
with the banjo.
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cun banjo.
00:58
Little did I know
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Non esperaba
o forte impacto que ía recibir unha noite
01:00
what a huge impact it would have on me one night
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01:02
when I was at a party
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cando estaba nunha festa
01:04
and I heard a sound coming out of a record player
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e escoitei un son a través dun tocadiscos
01:06
in the corner of a room.
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que soaba dende un recuncho do cuarto.
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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cantando e tocando "Shady Grove".
01:13
♫ Shady Grove, my little love ♫
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♫ Shady Grove, my little love ♫
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♫ Shady Grove, my darlin' ♫
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♫ Shady Grove, my darlin' ♫
01:17
♫ Shady Grove, my little love ♫
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♫ Shady Grove, my little love ♫
01:20
♫ Going back to Harlan ♫
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♫ Going back to Harlan ♫
01:24
That sound was just so beautiful,
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Era un son tan fermoso,
01:27
the sound of Doc's voice
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a voz de Doc Watson
01:29
and the rippling groove of the banjo.
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e a cadencia ondulante do banjo.
01:33
And after being totally and completely obsessed
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E despois de estar totalmente obsesionada
01:37
with the mammoth richness and history
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coa colosal historia e riqueza
01:39
of Chinese culture,
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da cultura chinesa,
01:41
it was like this total relief
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era un completo acougo
01:45
to hear something so truly American
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escoitar algo tan estadounidense
e tan impresionante.
01:48
and so truly awesome.
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01:51
I knew I had to take a banjo with me to China.
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Souben entón que tiña que levar un banjo a China.
Así que, antes de ir á facultade
de dereito en China,
de dereito en China,
01:56
So before going to law school in China
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01:58
I bought a banjo, I threw it in my little red truck
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comprei un banjo, metino na
miña furgoneta vermella
miña furgoneta vermella
02:01
and I traveled down through Appalachia
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e viaxei pola rexión de Appalachia,
e aprendín moitas cancións
norteamericanas tradicionais.
norteamericanas tradicionais.
02:04
and I learned a bunch of old American songs,
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02:06
and I ended up in Kentucky
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E rematei en Kentucky,
na Convención Internacional
da Bluegrass Music Association.
da Bluegrass Music Association.
02:08
at the International Bluegrass Music Association Convention.
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Unha noite estaba eu
sentada nun vestíbulo
sentada nun vestíbulo
02:11
And I was sitting in a hallway one night
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e acercáronseme dúas mozas.
02:14
and a couple girls came up to me.
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"Gustaríache improvisar
uns temas?", dixeron.
uns temas?", dixeron.
02:16
And they said, "Hey, do you want to jam?"
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02:18
And I was like, "Sure."
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"Claro", contesteilles.
02:20
So I picked up my banjo
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Así que collín o meu banjo
e, nerviosa, toquei con elas
4 pezas que coñecía.
4 pezas que coñecía.
02:22
and I nervously played four songs that I actually knew with them.
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E un produtor discográfico
achegóuseme
achegóuseme
02:25
And a record executive walked up to me
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02:27
and invited me to Nashville, Tennessee to make a record.
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e invitoume a ir a Nashville, Tennesee,
para gravar un disco.
para gravar un disco.
(Risos)
02:30
(Laughter)
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02:37
It's been eight years,
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Xa hai oito anos diso.
O certo é que non fun a China
para estudar dereito.
para estudar dereito.
02:41
and I can tell you that I didn't go to China to become a lawyer.
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De feito, fun a Nashville.
02:45
In fact, I went to Nashville.
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02:47
And after a few months I was writing songs.
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E logo duns meses
xa estaba compoñendo.
xa estaba compoñendo.
02:50
And the first song I wrote was in English,
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A primeira canción compúxena en inglés
02:52
and the second one was in Chinese.
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e a segunda en chinés.
02:56
(Music)
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(Música)
02:59
[Chinese]
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[Chinés]
03:09
Outside your door the world is waiting.
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Fóra, o mundo está agardando.
03:11
Inside your heart a voice is calling.
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No teu corazón unha voz está chamando.
03:13
The four corners of the world are watching,
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Os confíns do mundo están vixiando,
03:15
so travel daughter, travel.
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así que viaxa, pequena, viaxa.
Faino, ti podes, nena.
03:18
Go get it, girl.
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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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Xa pasaron oito anos dende aquela noite en Kentucky.
Toquei en milleiros de espectáculos
03:33
And I've played thousands of shows.
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e colaborei con moitísimos músicos
03:35
And I've collaborated
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inspiradores e incribles,
por todo o mundo.
por todo o mundo.
03:37
with so many incredible, inspirational musicians around the world.
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03:41
And I see the power of music.
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E vexo o poder que ten a música.
03:43
I see the power of music
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Vexo o poder da música
03:45
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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Véxoo cando estou nun escenario,
03:49
in a bluegrass festival in east Virginia
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nun festival de música bluegrass
no leste de Virxinia
no leste de Virxinia
03:51
and I look out at the sea of lawn chairs
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e miro o mar de cadeiras fronte a min
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and I bust out into a song in Chinese.
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e arranco cunha canción en chinés.
[Chinés]
03:56
[Chinese]
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03:59
And everybody's eyes just pop wide open
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E todo o mundo fica cos ollos moi abertos,
04:02
like it's going to fall out of their heads.
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coma se lles fosen saír das órbitas.
04:05
And they're like, "What's that girl doing?"
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E todos pensan "Pero que fai esa rapaza?".
04:07
And then they come up to me after the show
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E despois do espectáculo,
achéganse a min
achéganse a min
04:10
and they all have a story.
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e todos teñen algunha historia.
04:12
They all come up and they're like,
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Todos veñen:
"Pois a galiña do can da coidadora
da irmá da miña tía foi a China...
da irmá da miña tía foi a China...
04:14
"You know, my aunt's sister's babysitter's dog's chicken went to China
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04:18
and adopted a girl."
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e adoptou unha nena."
04:20
And I tell you what, it like everybody's got a story.
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Saben que? Todo mundo
ten unha historia.
ten unha historia.
04:24
It's just incredible.
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É incrible.
04:27
And then I go to China
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Logo fun a China
04:29
and I stand on a stage at a university
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e, sobre un escenario na universidade,
04:32
and I bust out into a song in Chinese
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cantei unha canción en chinés
04:34
and everybody sings along
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e todo o mundo cantou comigo.
04:37
and they roar with delight
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e berrábanlle cheos de ledicia
04:39
at this girl
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a esta moza,
04:41
with the hair and the instrument,
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con este pelo e con este instrumento,
04:43
and she's singing their music.
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que lles cantaba a súa música.
04:47
And I see, even more importantly,
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E vexo, sobre todo,
o poder da música para
conectar os corazóns.
conectar os corazóns.
04:51
the power of music to connect hearts.
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04:54
Like the time I was in Sichuan Province
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Como cando estiven na
provincia de Sichuan
provincia de Sichuan
04:57
and I was singing for kids in relocation schools
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cantándolles ós nenos das
escolas de recolocación
escolas de recolocación
05:00
in the earthquake disaster zone.
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na zona catastrófica
posterior ó sismo.
posterior ó sismo.
05:02
And this little girl comes up to me.
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Unha rapaza achégase e dime:
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[Chinese]
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[Chinés]
05:11
"Big sister Wong,"
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"Irmá Wong"
05:13
Washburn, Wong, same difference.
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Washburn, Wong, tanto ten.
05:17
"Big sister Wong, can I sing you a song
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"Irmá Wong, podo cantarche
unha canción
unha canción
05:20
that my mom sang for me
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que me cantaba a miña nai
05:22
before she was swallowed in the earthquake?"
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antes de que fose engulida polo sismo?"
05:26
And I sat down,
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E sentei,
05:28
she sat on my lap.
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ela sentou no meu colo.
05:30
She started singing her song.
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Comezou a cantar a súa canción.
05:33
And the warmth of her body
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Sentín o seu corpo tépedo
05:36
and the tears rolling down her rosy cheeks,
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e vin as bágoas caéndolle polas meixelas.
05:40
and I started to cry.
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Comecei a chorar.
05:43
And the light that shone off of her eyes
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E a luz que brillaba nos seus ollos.
05:47
was a place I could have stayed forever.
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era un sitio onde podería
ter ficado para sempre.
ter ficado para sempre.
05:51
And in that moment, we weren't our American selves,
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Nese intre, non eramos nin estadounidense
05:54
we weren't our Chinese selves,
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05:56
we were just mortals
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nin tampouco chinesa.
Eramos soamente dúas mortais,
06:00
sitting together in that light that keeps us here.
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sentadas xuntas nesa luz
que nos mantén aquí.
que nos mantén aquí.
06:05
I want to dwell in that light
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Eu quero vivir nesa luz,
convosco e con todo o mundo.
06:09
with you and with everyone.
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06:11
And I know U.S.-China relations
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E sei que as relacións entre os EE.UU. e China
06:13
doesn't need another lawyer.
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non precisan doutro avogado.
06:15
Thank you.
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Grazas.
(Aplausos)
06:17
(Applause)
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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