How Faith Is Like Music
Celia Cruz, Google Image |
That’s because Cruz was special. Known as the “Queen
of Salsa,” she released more than 40 albums over a career of nearly a half
century, winning two Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards.
If you’re not Latino/a, you may have never heard of
her and seeing videos of her performances, you may be put off by her outlandish
costumes and what one writer calls her “custom-made, gravity-defying shoes.” It’s
a cultural thing, I suppose.
But if you want to expand your horizons, take a listen
to what is, perhaps, her most famous song at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IibNqwndtCE. I challenge you to watch and listen without tapping your foot or
moving your body with the rhythm. And to be unimpressed with the message. The translation is below.
Can't Help But Feel Good
Cruz is special for Latinos/as for several reasons.
First, most of her songs are so rhythmic and upbeat, you can’t help but feel
good after listening. Second, they have an appeal that goes beyond culture and
age. The young are just as enthusiastic about her and her music as older
people.
But as with all good music and literature, the ability
to touch people where they live is what distinguishes the extraordinary from
the common. And that’s where she shines, singing songs that resound with the
poor, the discouraged, the old and young of the Caribbean and other parts of
Latin America and everywhere else.
And none of her songs does that better than “La Vida Es
Un Carnaval,” or “Life is a Carnival.
Must know that it isn’t,
That life is a beautiful thing
And you must live it.
All who think they are alone and detestable
Must know that they aren’t,
That in life no one is alone
There’s always someone.
Ay, there’s no need to cry, no need to cry
Life is a carnival.
It’s more beautiful to live singing.
Oh, oh, oh, ay, there’s no need to cry, no need to cry
Life is a carnival
And your suffering leaves when singing
Oh, oh, oh, ay, there’s no need to cry, no need to cry
Life is a carnival
And it’s more beautiful to live singing.
Faith Transcends Suffering
Many people who are suffering may not agree, but believers, such as Cruz (She grew up partly Catholic and was partly a believer in Santeria, an Afro-Caribbean mix with Catholicism.), know that faith transcends even suffering. In these blogs I have often noted that believers may not be able to justify their faith by appealing to reason. Although faith is reasonable, you can’t prove God’s existence through scientific means.
In my view, faith is like music, art and literature, which appeal partly to reason and partly to emotion. That’s why those pursuits have been so connected to religion throughout history. Some of the greatest musicians, artists and literary figures have been religious and have treated religious themes. And that trend continues in people like Cruz who model Christian optimism in the face of suffering.
Google Image |
Here’s my translation:
All who think that
life is unfairMust know that it isn’t,
That life is a beautiful thing
And you must live it.
All who think they are alone and detestable
Must know that they aren’t,
That in life no one is alone
There’s always someone.
Ay, there’s no need to cry, no need to cry
Life is a carnival.
It’s more beautiful to live singing.
Oh, oh, oh, ay, there’s no need to cry, no need to cry
Life is a carnival
And your suffering leaves when singing
Oh, oh, oh, ay, there’s no need to cry, no need to cry
Life is a carnival
And it’s more beautiful to live singing.
Faith Transcends Suffering
Many people who are suffering may not agree, but believers, such as Cruz (She grew up partly Catholic and was partly a believer in Santeria, an Afro-Caribbean mix with Catholicism.), know that faith transcends even suffering. In these blogs I have often noted that believers may not be able to justify their faith by appealing to reason. Although faith is reasonable, you can’t prove God’s existence through scientific means.
In my view, faith is like music, art and literature, which appeal partly to reason and partly to emotion. That’s why those pursuits have been so connected to religion throughout history. Some of the greatest musicians, artists and literary figures have been religious and have treated religious themes. And that trend continues in people like Cruz who model Christian optimism in the face of suffering.
Aymée Nuviola, one of two actresses who played Cruz in a 2016 Telemundo
broadcast docudrama titled Celia, is a big fan of the woman she depicted.
"She is not only greatness as an artist but she had an immense
charisma," recalls Nuviola. “…She helped those in need... She transmitted
happiness and joy and hope."
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