Perhaps the most devastating news out of Latin America over the weekend was the senseless murder of legendary Argentine singer-songwriter Facundo Cabral, gunned down in an ambush in Guatemala while en route to the airport after performing there, with the bullets supposedly intended for his concert promoter.
Cabral, who was 74, was a cultural institution. But for many he was perhaps best known for a song he recorded more than 40 years ago, since recorded around the world in many languages, called “No soy de aqui, ni soy de alla.” In Spanish it means “I’m not from here, nor from there.”
For Cabral, who lived a famously itinerant life, the words had their own meaning. The song itself, which is lovely, is a celebration of life’s simple joys. I’ve known it for years. But it had not struck me until this weekend, when searching for the lyrics, how that line – I’m not from here, nor from there – has resonated as a motto for immigrant identity.
