Arriba quemando el sol [English translation]

When I went to the Pampa

I carried my heart

happily like a chirigüe,

but there it died.

First, I lost my feathers,

then I lost my voice.

And above, the sun was burning.

When I saw the miners' room from within,

I told myself: "The snail lives better

in its shell,

or the refined thief in the shadow of the laws.".

And above, the sun was burning.

The rows of hovels

in front of each other, yes, sir;

the rows of women

in front of the only basin,

each one with her bucket

and with her face full of sorrow.

And above, the sun was burning.

We went to the local store

to buy our share,

twenty articles don't count

the strict discount.

With an empty basket

we returned to the pension.

And above, the sun was burning.

"Dry zone of the Pampa"

I read on a sign.

However, the bottles of liquor come and go.

Of course, they don't belong to the poor,

they're contraband or something like that.

And above, the sun was burning.

I pass by a dead village

my heart gets clouded,

even though there live people there,

death is much bigger.

They buried justice

They buried reason

And above, the sun was burning.

If someone says that I dream of

stories of praise,

I say it happens in Chuqui,

but in Santa Juana it's worse.

The miner doesn't know anymore

what his pain is worth.

And above, the sun was burning.

I returned to Santiago

without understanding the colour

in which they paint the news

when the poor says no.

Below, dark night

gold, saltpetre and coal.

And above, the sun was burning.

• Artist:Violeta Parra