For a saint’s wake
recently they invited me
hamlet Pira Pira
it was the programmed site
A wake to Saint Joseph
the nineteenth of march
with tenths and with tones
until the roosters crow
When I arrived, it was early
the altar was not ready
so that’s where I started
to ask little by little
That name Pira Pira
Is it stuck, separated
and I also want to know
what is its meaning?
Pira voz cumanagoto
is the piglet or amaranth
others say it’s legume
and around here it abounds somewhat
That piglet or amaranth
I heard it’s medicinal
with nutrients, it is also
brain oxygenator
Means bitter yucca
PIRAPIRA Caribbean voice
hamlet of Tocuyito
Lisandro Alvarado writes
There is a river of the same name
a chapel, a school
an ancient clinic
that helps to alleviate the sorrows
There is La Trilla and La Araguata
Guafalito with Las Cuevas
are the rural houses
there are also the Chorreras
And the ambulatory sector
make this Pira Pira
our beautiful farmhouse
a beautiful family
Communicate this way
with Valencia and with Pao
a grandmother said sadly
today they have forgotten
Many products from the field
they transferred it here
the heads of cattle
they also herded them
And by the way in that way
the road is steep
“The donkey kills it”
Imagine how inclined
And who came from Tocuyito
in what they call the sandy
had to go by raft
rushing river
There is no founding date
nor how old is he
maybe it’s one hundred and fifty
or one hundred and forty nine
Well just one day
gradually they were arriving
the first locals
and Pira Pira called him
The patron saint here
is father San José
who do you have your parties for
loaded with a lot of faith
On the head of a Pin
a Saint Joseph appeared
in the threshing grounds
Leocadia Otaiza saw it
Since then it has been venerated
with great faith and devotion
where the pirapireños
await your blessing
They make wake tones
in three voices and a cappella
the “contract”, the tenor
and another that they call the paste
That is, a guiding voice
the one that starts any song
then the tenor follows
that repeats loud and clear
The “contract” the strong voice
that should stand out
they are sounds, they are laments
that very well must follow
In the tones there may be
ran, battles, charades
arguments and stubbornness
tenths and a few tunes
There is the song to the divine
and I also sing to the human
is singing with passion
and some improvised
They play guitar and violin
other times only a four
that they tune it very differently
and they call it transported
One great singers
this town never forgets
they are don Eusebio Guevara
Angel Sevilla, Damián Rivas
Father Joaquín Urrutia
exactly the 12th of March
in nineteen hundred and six
blessed the sacred temple
It was Don Lorenzo Guevara
that a piece of land donated us
and there it was that the chapel
from the town got up
And among many other things
we also always remember
a beautiful tradition
what’s left in the past
They were “The festivals of the Father”
when even the town came
the priest of Tocuyito
and stayed a few days
Masses and baptisms were held
the beautiful communions
home blessings
and also confirmations
There were cockfights
coleaos bull afternoon
roulette and bowling
and the unparalleled game of dice
some sweets were sold
oven bread and marshmallows
paper guarapo
the buñuelos, delicious cakes
To the holy cross of May
here they set up their altar
see it, see it
and they come to sing
The holidays to the child God
during the month of December
with parties, bonuses
tradition that is not lost
And also during the year
other promises are paid
to favors received
by devotees of this land
To the Aparecida Cross
to San José, San Eligio
to the good Saint of the Button
and Santos Aparecidos
The Way of the Cross is walked
around here at Easter
and in carnival a queen
cheers very pleasant parties
Joropo is danced here
with violin and stomp
they call him blow e´ violin
very genuine and well crafted
When he goes to the mountain
pirapireño drink “against”
that of poisonous animals
protects them in sun and shade
Here in these mountains there are
picures and many limpets
mapites and mapanares
Cunaguaros, the iguanas
many cedars and guava trees
carob and samanes
cañafístolos, merey
bucares and orange groves
There are parakeets, pericones
tiles, guacharacas
gavilanes, caricares
there are conotos, paraulatas
in the river there are guabinas
freshwater crabs
there are spiders, scorpions
ticks … and it’s not a lie
There is a game that is very ours
and they call it “Seminduña”
they are seeds in the fist
if you guess they will be yours
Oscar Guevara the poet
He is a native of these lands
is inspired by its landscapes
and gives us his letters
Paleontologist, ornithologist
who lived in this place
owner of Hacienda Guayana
I’m talking about Mr. Walter Arp
So picturesque is Pira Pira
what scenes have been recorded
of a few novels
for its dreamed landscapes
Here was Oscar Martínez
Maria Teresa Chacin
with Galician novels
And Pira Pira was a feast
There came Heidi Guevara
gave me a sweet “choking cat”
the same starch
that has a very pleasant taste
Suddenly a four is heard
The wake is about to begin!
And we went to the caney
Where they had the altar
And there with his four he was
the compa Ulises Dalmao
with Oscarcito Guevara
And Javier Díaz invited
There were also more people
sharing the day
pirapireña tradition
centenary and well kept
It was a very tasty night
what with friends i spent
sure next year
to Pira Pira I will return
And where is Pira Pira
hamlet I am talking about today
via the Oasis, the Sandy
Libertador Municipality
Don Pío Lara
–
