desapariciones

this video was taken on the 30th anniversary of the 1976 coup d'etat in argentina. in buenos aires the day was commemorated by an enormous march under the banner: memory, truth & justice.

the music is desapariciones (disappearances) by los fabulosos cadillacs (original by rubén blades. gracias, eepdlryed ;) some lyrics & translation below...




que alguien me diga
si ha visto a mi esposo
preguntaba la doña
se llama ernesto y tiene cuarenta años
trabajaba de peón
en un negocio de autos
llevaba camisa oscura
y pantalón claro
salió de noche y no ha regresado
y yo no sé ya que pensar
pues esto ante
no me había pasado

someone tell me
if you've seen my husband,
the lady was asking
he's called ernesto & he's 40 years old
he's a worker at a car dealership
he was wearing a dark shirt
and light pants
he went out at night and hasn't returned
and i don't know what to think
this has never happened to me before

llevo tres días
buscando a mi hermana
se llama altagracia
igual que la abuela
salió del trabajo para la escuela
llevaba puestos jeans
y una camisa blanca
no ha sido el novio...
el tipo está en su casa
no saben de ella en la policía
ni en el hospital

i've spent 3 days
looking for my sister
she's called altagracia
just like our grandmother
she left from work to go to school
she was wearing jeans
and a white shirt
it wasn't her boyfriend...
that guy is at his house
they don't know anything about her
at the police station
or at the hospital

que alguien me diga
si ha visto a mi hijo
es estudiante de medicina
se llama agustín
y es un buen muchacho
es a veces terco cuando opina
lo han detenido...
no se que fuerza
pantalón blanco camisa a rayas
paso ante ayer

someone tell me
if you've seen my son
he's a medical student
he's called augustín
he's a good boy
sometimes stubborn about his opinions
they've detained him
i don't know which force
white pants, a striped shirt
it happened the day before yesterday

...

anoche escuche
varias explosiones
tiros de escopeta y de revólver
autos acelerados, frenos, gritos
ecos de botas en la calle
toques de puerta,
quejas, por dioses, platos rotos
estaban dando la telenovela
por eso nadie miró pa'fuera
avestruz

last night i heard
various explosions
shots from rifles & revolvers
engines accelerating, breaks, shouts
the echos of boots on the streets
knocks on the door
cries of "for god's sake", broken dishes
they had on the soap opera
so no one looked outside
ostrich