for mongo santamaria
(1917 -- 2003)
baba mi jijo
my father, please dance
ijo leegun n jo
a masquerade should dance
bo loo dara, oro asimo
punishment awaits those who refuse
to honor a masquerade
egungun chant
conguero. yr hands beat a sacred path from
conga, to tumbadora to quinto, much
like yr sojourn from hustle/playing en las
calles locales de havana to the
night club tropicana; & from mexico
to new york & perez prado, cal tjader
y tito puente! the spirit of ayan
came upon u; made those congas sound like igbin
ipese & ogidan, drums sacred to
the yoruba; possessed bebop declaring
u "are ilu", mighty chief of drummers
© Joseph McNair;2010
Isn't mongo a senagalese name for chief? You honor this ancestor well!
ReplyDeleteHe made me quit pretending to play conga drums!
ReplyDelete