La Piragua

My grandparents told me that long ago
A canoe sailed in the César
Departing from El Banco old port
To the beaches of love in Chimichagua

Tackling the gale, it trembled
And impassively defied the storm
And an army of stars followed it
Studding it with light and legend

It was Guillermo Cubillos' canoe
It was the canoe
It was the canoe

Twelve rowers with skin the color of majagua
And among them the fearsome Pedro Albundía
At night they would start rowing
Their melodic roar of beautiful cumbia

Twelve shadows now old no longer row
The wood no longer creaks in the water
Only memories remain in the sand
Where the canoe lies dormant

It was Guillermo Cubillos' canoe
It was the canoe
It was the canoe

The canoe
The canoe
The canoe
The canoe