Slang Spanish, Aña Pa' Mi Tambor?
There's a few salsa songs that seem to be using slang spanish in their song titles like these:
- Aña Pa' Mi Tambor
- La Chambelona
- Salsa Na Ma
Does anyone have a translation?
Edit: For those interested here are the songs on YouTube/Amazon.
Aña pa' mi tambor - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVaKdDvVg2A
Salsa Na Ma - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYJSw8uNPPU
La Chambelona - http://www.amazon.com/La-Chambelona/dp/B002WKWVQ2
3 Answers
A quick search on Google shows that Chambelona is an old Cuban song. It is not clear what "Chambelona" means, but it is thought that it may refer to music from the region of Chambas.
"Aña pa' mi tambor", I can't be sure without hearing the lyrics, but I assume it is a contraction of "Caña para Mi Tambor" - "Liquour / Firewater for my Drum".
"Salsa Na Ma" is a contraction of "Salsa Nada Más".
Aña Pa' Mi Tambor by La Excelencia is a great song! The title has to be broken down to understand it. "Aña" (pronounced an-yá), the Orisha or deity whose secret resides within the drum. "Pa" is a short slang form of saying "Para" which in English means "For". "Mi" is the Spanish word for "My" "Tambor" in English means "Drum". The title in English would be, "Anya For My Drum". After listening to the song it confirms the song is about receiving "Aña" (pronounced an-yá) which is given to chosen drummers for sacred Orisha purposes of calling the spirits. So La Excelencia is asking for the blessing of "Aña" (pronounced an-yá) for their drums to give them the strength and spirit within the drum to come alive and present itself when they are each soloing on their instruments.
La Chambalona means, the lollipop. For more info see page 149 below.
<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border:0px" src="http://books.google.com/books?id=vc9aYuj5DoIC&lpg=PA149&ots=0NgyjcAtqX&dq=what does chambelona mean&pg=PA149&output=embed" width=500 height=500></iframe>
This script seems to work in preview mode, however, doesn't seem to show in my post. If not, here's a link as well.
As well, there is apparently a book that covers it, which you'll see in the link. It's called The Consul's Wife By Vera Buck, Christopher Alan Edwards.
