Luna de Xelajú

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Luna de Xelajú" is a very popular Guatemalan waltz, played on marimba or any other instrument or ensemble; it was composed by Paco Pérez. Xelajú (pronounced shay-lah-HOO) is actually the name used by the Mayans for the Guatemalan city Quetzaltenango. The song was written to Miss Eugenia Cohen, a beautiful Jewish lady who stole the writer's heart, but eventually left him because Eugenia's parents disapproved of the relationship. The rightful heiress of this legacy, lives in Quetzaltenango and Guatemala City to this day.

All of the great marimba bands of Guatemala have played it to great success. Perhaps one of the most popular recent versions is as the first selection of the CD Valses inolvidables de Guatemala, with the Guatemalan Millennium Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Dieter Lehnhoff.

A fairly notorious rendition by amateur musician Jared Smith was recorded by his brothers and made famous by its use in the "software toy", Jared.

[edit] Song Lyrics

Although the marimba is often played alone, the song has lyrics accompanying it.

[edit] Luna de Xelajú

Note: Some of the lyrics lose something in translation.

Original	English translation
Luna gardenia de plata, Que en mi serenata, Te vuelves canción, Tú que me viste cantando, me ves hoy llorando, Mi desilusión,	Gardenian moon of silver, In my serenade, You turn into song, You who saw me singing, now see me crying, My disillusionment,
Calles bañadas de luna, Que fueron la cuna de mi juventud, Vengo a cantarle a mi amada, La luna plateada de mi Xelajú,	Streets bathed in moonlight, That were the cradle of my youth, I come to sing to my beloved, The silver moon of my Xelajú,
Luna de Xelajú, Que supiste alumbrar, En mis noches de pena, Por una morena de dulce mirar,	Moon of Xelajú, You knew to shine, In my nights of grief, For a sweet looking dark-skinned girl
Luna de Xelajú, Me diste inspiración, La canción que hoy te canto, Regada con llanto de mi corazón,	Moon of Xelajú, You gave me inspiration, The song that I now sing, Watered with the tears from my heart,
En mi vida no habrá, Más cariño que tú, Mi amor,	In my life there will not be, More love than you, My love,
Porque no eres ingrata, Mi luna de plata, Luna de Xelajú,	Because you were not ungrateful, My moon of silver, Moon of Xelajú,
Luna que me alumbró, En mis noches de amor, Y hoy consuelas mi pena, Por una morena que me abandonó...	Moon that shone, In my nights of love, Now you console my grief, For a dark-skinned girl who aban doned me...

[edit] Version 2 of the story - - - -

the origin of this composition, its believed to have been inspired by a mulatta that may have hidden her past in order to seduce the composer unknowingly. When Mr Perez accidently discovered the Mulattas previous affairs and background he was heartbroken and full of despair. He sought consolation from close friends but it was his passion to music that created the vehicle of outburst of abandonment.

Mulatta profile.jpg Caption1