That Ranchero Rythm

In La Campa we listen to an aweful lot of this music. It goes a lot like this.... one chord once, a second chord twice. Repeat. :) Its really fun to listen to sometimes because every song tells a new, culturally insightful story. Out of curiousity, I looked at the tape-cassette cover and the songs were listed. Seven of the 19 songs appeared to be about different caballos (horses) :) I listen to ranchero music for extended periods of time during my commutes to neighboring communities. Generally I only catch a line or two before a boulder or a pothole in the road jars my brain. It can get a little old after an hour and a half of more-or-less continuous potholes and boulders.

I brought my MP3 player into the office today to charge it and thought about how nice it would be to get some varied music mixed in with the ranchero. So once my MP3 player had charged a little, I got a pair of computer speakers and plugged them in at my desk. Its a wonderful thing. I started getting all nostalgic, listening to songs that remind me of different people, places, and events. Some merengue, bachata, and salsa music came on too and I got all excited because I could actually understand the words! I`ve had those songs for a few years and listened to them a whole lot, but it added a whole new dimention being able to understand them.

I want to teach my co-workers some songs. We have little Bible-studies on Monday mornings and we always sing. A few songs have english translations and its really interesting to look at the difference in word choice. Its that way with Bible verses too. It makes me wonder what the originally intended feeling was. Anyway I have some songs that I love that are in Swahili I think. Si-zo ham ba na ye, wo wo wo! and Hakuna wakaita sa Jesu (from SALT orientation). I figure since they`re not in English, everything should be cheque (good). I made working spanish translations so they can understand it. Then they want to learn english too, so maybe we`ll sing them in three languages.

Anyway tonight is another selection game for the World Cup in 2010. Its against Jamaica, in Kingston. I went down to the municipal building last game to watch it and I had a good time, so Í`m looking forward to doing it again.