Salta de ayer [English translation]

Hurt by the carnival,

my soul drives me northward, and

Salta 1 weeps over my spurs

when I come back.

And my loneliness becomes flour

for molding four-line verse songs.

The wind blows to bump into

all sorts of tent-dwellers, and

the acullico 2 soothes all heavy-hearted feelings,

as bagualas* are played.

And during the carnival,

even the moon acts a drum.

Oh, Salta of days past,

the haven of poets!

Castilla 3 falls in love

effortlessly;

Don Sanca is alive in the flowers

of lirolay 4

Mounted on a chesnut colt,

as if wading through some sorrow,

Baltazar's shadow crosses

the River Piedra;

and the colt bolts within me,

for it is the time of the carnival.

Such lovely basil perfumes the air!

The baguala players make the night burn,

and the wing of my handkerchief looks for you

as the day dawns on the pleats of my instrument.

Is the zamba* ever gorgeous

when it sees me dance with you!

1. the name of a city, and a pronvince, in northwestern Argentina, at the foothill of the Andes 2. a ball made of coca leaves... ends up served as a drink with stimulating effects 3. last name 4. the hardest flower to find

• Artist:Los Nocheros
• Album:Al rojo vivo (1989)