Feeling and Thinking Eduardo Galeano in Songs

Sentipensando a Eduardo Galeano en Canciones

Can the indelible thoughts and feelings etched into the mind after reading Eduardo Galeano truly be captured in a song? Where some write questions in the margins of books, I write music. I have no interest in retelling a story or reciting facts; that is not my vocation. Instead, I seek an internal dialogue with the text—a conversation to help me synthesize what must not be forgotten. It is my way of choosing faith over despair, and hope over the rhyming of regrets.

My approach was deliberate. First, I would find a text that resonated with me. Second, I would "scavenge" for outside sources—such as Pamela Newkirk’s Spectacle to provide historical depth to Galeano’s writings on Ota Benga—to enrich the experience. Finally, I would let the ideas marinate, allowing them the space to return to me as something new: a blend of memory, judgment, and value.

The process itself was a haunting of sorts. As I worked to repair my soul, the melodies of legends—from Violeta Parra and Silvio Rodríguez to Nina Simone and Bill Withers—would drift into my mind, providing a sonic framework. For example, the verse structure of my song "Albert Einstein" emerged from the folkloric bones of Parra’s "Porque los pobres no tienen."

This was never a "plan," but a springboard for thought—an exercise in finding meaning through action and reflection. Like Samuel Beckett said: "Try again. Fail again. Fail better." After three years of writing and five years of hesitation, these songs eventually outgrew their "box of dreams." Some feelings are simply too strong to keep inside; they demand to be shared.

Songs

Send me a note if you would like to continue the conversation or share your thoughts on any of these songs: