El condor al pasar me dijo a mí,A Rough translation: The condor when passing said to me to me,The Simon & Garfinkle version: I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail |
The Andean
Condor belong to a family of birds that include Turkey Vultures, Black
Vultures, California Condors and the rare King Vulture. These American
Vultures share many interesting characteristics; such as being specialized
carrion eaters, having a bald head, and weak flight muscles. Instead of
flapping their wings to fly, vultures often soar by relying on rising air
currents to carry them from one place of another.
Around 1916, Peruvian composer Daniel Alomias Robles notated this popular traditional melody and used it as the basis for an instrumental suite. Many varied lyrics have since been written, but this anonymous version invites the singer to ride on its back high above the earth where, from that vantage point, one sees no borders, no frontiers - "all are equal." After a college concert in South Dakota in the late 70's, I was given these words by a young teacher named Loren Silver, who said he had been living and teaching in Bolivia for several years. James Durst
MWW Shirley and I visited Machu Picchu and were awed by the flight of the condors through the entire trip. Bill
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