Learn Spanish with: Chan Chan

by Buena Vista Social Club

This song tracks a journey across Eastern Cuba, framed by the repetition of "De Alto Cedro" (From Alto Cedro). The singer balances a sincere declaration of affection with the domestic image of Juanica and Chan Chan sifting sand.

On this page: Lyrics and translations · Grammar notes · Word study

Interactive Subtitles & Translation

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané

Literal: From High Cedar (place name) I go for Marcané

English: From Alto Cedro I am going to Marcané

Turkish: Alto Cedro'dan Marcané'ye gidiyorum

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí.

Literal: I arrive to Cueto I go for Mayarí.

English: I arrive at Cueto I am going to Mayarí.

Turkish: Cueto'ya varıyorum, Mayarí'ye gidiyorum.

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané

Literal: From High Cedar (place name) I go for Marcané

English: From Alto Cedro I am going to Marcané

Turkish: Alto Cedro'dan Marcané'ye gidiyorum

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí.

Literal: I arrive to Cueto I go for Mayarí.

English: I arrive at Cueto I am going to Mayarí.

Turkish: Cueto'ya varıyorum, Mayarí'ye gidiyorum.

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané

Literal: From High Cedar (place name) I go for Marcané

English: From Alto Cedro I am going to Marcané

Turkish: Alto Cedro'dan Marcané'ye gidiyorum

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí.

Literal: I arrive to Cueto I go for Mayarí.

English: I arrive at Cueto I am going to Mayarí.

Turkish: Cueto'ya varıyorum, Mayarí'ye gidiyorum.

El cariño que te tengo

Literal: The affection that I to-you have

English: The affection that I have for you

Turkish: Sana duyduğum sevgi

Yo no lo puedo negar

Literal: I not it can deny

English: I cannot deny it

Turkish: Onu inkar edemem

Se me sale la babita

Literal: To-me escapes the little-drool

English: My drool comes out

Turkish: Ağzımın suyu akıyor

Yo no lo puedo evitar.

Literal: I not it can avoid.

English: I cannot avoid it.

Turkish: Buna engel olamam.

Cuando Juanica y Chan Chan

Literal: When Juanica and Chan Chan

English: When Juanica and Chan Chan

Turkish: Juanica ve Chan Chan

En el mar cernían arena

Literal: In the sea they-were-sifting sand

English: Were sifting sand in the sea

Turkish: Denizde kum eliyorlardı

Como sacudía el 'jibe'

Literal: How she-was-shaking the sieve

English: How she shook the sieve

Turkish: Kalburu nasıl sallıyordu

A Chan Chan le daba pena.

Literal: To Chan Chan it gave shame.

English: Chan Chan felt embarrassed.

Turkish: Chan Chan utanıyordu.

Limpia el camino de paja

Literal: Clean the path of straw

English: Clean the path of straw

Turkish: Yolu samandan temizle

Que yo me quiero sentar

Literal: That I myself want to-sit

English: For I want to sit

Turkish: Çünkü oturmak istiyorum

En aquel tronco que veo

Literal: On that log that I see

English: On that log that I see

Turkish: Gördüğüm o kütüğe

Y así no puedo llegar.

Literal: And thus not I can arrive.

English: And this way I cannot arrive.

Turkish: Ve böylece varamıyorum.

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané

Literal: From High Cedar (place name) I go for Marcané

English: From Alto Cedro I am going to Marcané

Turkish: Alto Cedro'dan Marcané'ye gidiyorum

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí.

Literal: I arrive to Cueto I go for Mayarí.

English: I arrive at Cueto I am going to Mayarí.

Turkish: Cueto'ya varıyorum, Mayarí'ye gidiyorum.

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané

Literal: From High Cedar (place name) I go for Marcané

English: From Alto Cedro I am going to Marcané

Turkish: Alto Cedro'dan Marcané'ye gidiyorum

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí.

Literal: I arrive to Cueto I go for Mayarí.

English: I arrive at Cueto I am going to Mayarí.

Turkish: Cueto'ya varıyorum, Mayarí'ye gidiyorum.

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané

Literal: From High Cedar (place name) I go for Marcané

English: From Alto Cedro I am going to Marcané

Turkish: Alto Cedro'dan Marcané'ye gidiyorum

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí.

Literal: I arrive to Cueto I go for Mayarí.

English: I arrive at Cueto I am going to Mayarí.

Turkish: Cueto'ya varıyorum, Mayarí'ye gidiyorum.

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané

Literal: From High Cedar (place name) I go for Marcané

English: From Alto Cedro I am going to Marcané

Turkish: Alto Cedro'dan Marcané'ye gidiyorum

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí.

Literal: I arrive to Cueto I go for Mayarí.

English: I arrive at Cueto I am going to Mayarí.

Turkish: Cueto'ya varıyorum, Mayarí'ye gidiyorum.

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané

Literal: From High Cedar (place name) I go for Marcané

English: From Alto Cedro I am going to Marcané

Turkish: Alto Cedro'dan Marcané'ye gidiyorum

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí.

Literal: I arrive to Cueto I go for Mayarí.

English: I arrive at Cueto I am going to Mayarí.

Turkish: Cueto'ya varıyorum, Mayarí'ye gidiyorum.

De Alto Cedro voy para Marcané

Literal: From High Cedar (place name) I go for Marcané

English: From Alto Cedro I am going to Marcané

Turkish: Alto Cedro'dan Marcané'ye gidiyorum

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí.

Literal: I arrive to Cueto I go for Mayarí.

English: I arrive at Cueto I am going to Mayarí.

Turkish: Cueto'ya varıyorum, Mayarí'ye gidiyorum.

Grammar notes, line by line

What each line is doing grammatically: the case and person endings it uses, the tense or mood of its verb, and the fixed expressions a dictionary will not resolve word by word. Lines that repeat in the song are listed once.

Llego a Cueto voy para Mayarí.

I arrive at Cueto I am going to Mayarí.

  • Movement expressed via 'ir a' (to go to) + 'para' (towards/in direction of).
  • Geographic movement uses 'a' for destination and 'para' for general direction.

El cariño que te tengo

The affection that I have for you

  • The relative clause 'que te tengo' modifies 'cariño'.

Yo no lo puedo negar

I cannot deny it

  • Standard clitic placement with 'lo' (direct object) preceding the conjugated verb.

Se me sale la babita

My drool comes out

  • The 'me' is a dative of interest or reflexive indicating a spontaneous physical action.

En el mar cernían arena

Were sifting sand in the sea

  • The verb 'cernían' is in the imperfect, implying a habitual, ongoing action in the past.

Como sacudía el 'jibe'

How she shook the sieve

  • The word 'jibe' is a Caribbean/Cuban term for a sieve, originating from Taino *híba*.

A Chan Chan le daba pena.

Chan Chan felt embarrassed.

  • The phrase 'dar pena' is a common idiom meaning to feel embarrassed, shy, or ashamed.

Que yo me quiero sentar

For I want to sit

  • The 'que' acts as a causal conjunction here, meaning 'because' or 'since'.

En aquel tronco que veo

On that log that I see

  • The structure 'en aquel...' identifies a specific distant physical object.

Y así no puedo llegar.

And this way I cannot arrive.

  • The 'y así' links the inability to reach the destination to the condition of the path.

Word study: 53 words with roots and origins

Every distinct word in the song, in the order it is first sung, with the dictionary form to look up, the endings on it, what it means here, and where the word came from. Words that recur are listed once.

WordDictionary formGrammarMeaningOrigin
De de prep. From From Old Spanish de.Wiktionary
Alto alto adj. m. sg. High / Tall From Latin altus.Wiktionary
Cedro cedro n. m. sg. Cedar From Latin cedrus, from Ancient Greek.Wiktionary
voy ir v., 1st pers. sg. pres. ind. of 'ir' (presente de indicativo) I go From Latin eo, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
para para prep. To / For From Latin prō.Wiktionary
Marcané Marcané n. proper sg. Marcané (place name) Proper noun of indigenous origin.
Llego llegar v., 1st pers. sg. pres. ind. of 'llegar' (presente de indicativo) I arrive From Latin applicō.Wiktionary
a a prep. at/to From Latin ad.Wiktionary
Cueto Cueto n. proper m. sg. Cueto (place name) Toponym of Asturian origin meaning 'hill' or 'crag'.Listed in Wiktionary
Mayarí Mayarí n. proper m. sg. Mayarí (place name) Taino-origin toponym for a region in Cuba.
El el art. m. sg. The From Latin ille, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
cariño cariño n. m. sg. affection Uncertain; possibly from caro (dear).
que que pron. that From Latin quid.Wiktionary
te tú pron. 2nd pers. sg. for you From Latin tū, from Proto-Italic *tū, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.Wiktionary
tengo tener v., 1st pers. sg. pres. ind. of 'tener' (presente de indicativo) I have From Old Spanish tener ('to hold'), from Latin teneo ('to hold; to keep; to have'), from Proto-Italic *tenēō.Wiktionary
Yo yo pron. 1st pers. sg. I From Late Latin eo, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
no no adv. not From Latin non, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
lo él pron. m. sg. it From Latin ille.Wiktionary
puedo poder v., 1st pers. sg. pres. ind. of 'poder' (presente de indicativo) I can From Vulgar Latin posso.Wiktionary
negar negar v. inf. deny From Latin negāre.Wiktionary
Se se pron. reflexive marker From Latin sē.Wiktionary
me yo pron. 1st pers. sg. to me From Latin mihi.
sale salir v., 3rd pers. sg. pres. ind. of 'salir' (presente de indicativo) comes out From Latin salire, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
la el art. f. sg. the From Latin ille, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
babita baba n. f. sg. dimin. drool (little) From Vulgar Latin *baba.Wiktionary
evitar evitar v. inf. avoid From Latin evito.Wiktionary
Cuando cuando conj. When From Latin quandō.Wiktionary
Juanica Juanica n. proper sg. Juanica (name) Diminutive of Juana.
y y conj. and From Old Spanish é.Wiktionary
Chan Chan n. proper sg. Chan (name) Proper noun of unknown origin.Listed in Wiktionary
En en prep. in From Latin in, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
mar mar n. m. sg. sea From Latin mare, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
cernían cernir v., 3rd pers. pl. impf. ind. of 'cernir' (pretérito imperfecto) were sifting From Latin cerno, from Proto-Italic *krinō, from Proto-Indo-European *krey-.Wiktionary
arena arena n. f. sg. sand From Latin arēna.Wiktionary
Como como adv. How From Old Spanish commo, from Latin cōmō̆.Wiktionary
sacudía sacudir v., 3rd pers. sg. impf. ind. of 'sacudir' (pretérito imperfecto) she shook From Latin succutere, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
jibe jibe n. m. sg. sieve From Taíno híba.
le él pron. 3rd pers. sg. to him From Latin ille.Wiktionary
daba dar v., 3rd pers. sg. impf. ind. of 'dar' (pretérito imperfecto) gave From Old Spanish dar ('to give'), from Latin dō.Wiktionary
pena pena n. f. sg. shame / embarrassment From Latin poena, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
Limpia limpiar v., 3rd pers. sg. pres. ind. of 'limpiar' (presente de indicativo) Clear From Late Latin limpidō.Wiktionary
camino camino n. m. sg. path From Medieval Latin camminus, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
paja paja n. f. sg. straw From Latin palea, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
Que que conj. because From Latin quid.Wiktionary
me yo pron. reflexive 1st pers. sg. myself From Late Latin eo, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
quiero querer v., 1st pers. sg. pres. ind. of 'querer' (presente de indicativo) want From Latin quaerō.Wiktionary
sentar sentar v. inf. to sit From Latin *sedentō, from Latin sedēns.Wiktionary
aquel aquel adj. demonstrative m. sg. that From Vulgar Latin *eccum ille.Wiktionary
tronco tronco n. m. sg. log From Latin truncus, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
que que pron. relative that From Latin quid.Wiktionary
veo ver v., 1st pers. sg. pres. ind. of 'ver' (presente de indicativo) I see From Latin videre, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
así así adv. that way From Latin sic, probably from Old Spanish.Wiktionary
llegar llegar v. inf. arrive From Latin applicō.Wiktionary

Linguistic analysis is produced with AI assistance and reviewed by hand before publication. It is designed as an educational aid and may still contain translation or etymological errors.

Keep going

All grammar courses · All songs

Home · Grammar courses · About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · Contact