"We are presenting music for celebration," "from the Caribbean coast, played on the accordion." "And we are presenting the "Son" of Pacho Rada," "which came out of the history of his school." "The accordion was born in Germany." "Those who can play it were born in Colombia." "When you combine the two," "lots of beautiful things come out." "We present Paseo und Merengue" "and Puya, played on the accordion." "That is why we call it Colombian music," "and Pacho Rada, who plays it, is Colombian too." "Hello, Pacho!" "Did you sleep well?" "Yes, thanks." "Goodbye, Mr. Pacho!" "Goodbye, my children!" "And what now?" " She was to belong to me..." "The ending doesn't fit in here." "She wanted to take her time, so she wouldn't regret it later." "When we arrived from Santa Marta today," "he composed a new song." "I wrote it down immediately so it wouldn't be lost." "There are a lot of musicians in Columbia" "who take other people's music and lyrics" "and then claim to be the author themselves." "That has happened to us before." "I started with his first song," "that he wrote when he was ten years old." "Songs like "The Leafless Tree" have a story behind them." "All of my father's songs have a story behind them." "From old Mariana's house" "a witch comes outside." "Oh, if she would only come to me" "and tell me who will suffer!" "I have 16 children." " 16." "How many children does..." "How many children does Alberto Rada have?" " 9 children." "And how many does Alejandro have?" " 9." "9..." "But tell me:" "Of Pachito's descendants," "Gladis had 6 children." " That makes 11." "And Rada?" "Rada has 4." " That makes 15." "And the entire family?" "How many of us are there?" "My father has 81 grandchildren." "How many are there in all?" " In all, there are... 422, counting the great- grandchildren." "Now I would like to tell you something:" "When I composed "The Leafless Tree,"" "I never thought that I would have so many descendants." "When I wrote the song, I was alone." "But that's the way life is... now I have... how many?" " 422." "I have given life to 422 people," "and yet today, I still feel alone!" "Thank you." "Hello Papa, how are you?" " Fine." "I'm teaching my son how to play the accordion." "We've chosen a pretty song." "Would you like to hear it?" "You tell me you are leaving, full of fury" "because I was drinking day and night." "Don't leave me!" "Don't leave me, my dark beauty!" "The song is very pretty," "but the accordion is no good." "It's either broken or out of tune." "Yes, there is something wrong." " Something is broken." "Yes, it's been repaired often." "What do you suggest?" " Buy a new one!" "Buy yourself a new accordion!" "Where is old man Pacho?" "Listen, Pacho:" "You're over 90 years old," "I'm sure you have seduced a lot of women?" "Yes, but it wasn't my fault." " Not yourfault?" " Yes." "Don't you remember how many ladies there have been in your life?" "Well, I don't like to talk about that subject," "it's very personal." "But you have a good memory for songs." "Recently, you sang me a song" "about death or something..." "The song is called, "My Last Years." It goes like this:" "I composed a song about my last years," "to tell you all the things that have happened in my life." "People don't appreciate what I have created..." "No:" "I have soared to great heights with my music," "and now I must die as a poor man," "because people don't appreciate what I have created." "When I look at my grave, it fills up with tears." "Fame can cause you problems, too." "Because I'm famous, people think I have money." "Do you know what my pension is?" "When I go to bed at night, I wonder about the next day," "because I go to bed hungry." "That is my pension:" "Not knowing what I will eat tomorrow," "because there is nothing to eat." "I don't think it's possible to repair this accordion again." "What do you mean?" " This accordion is..." "The parts that belong here" "have already been repaired often." "Look, bicycle wire was used to repair this." "This accordion is in bad shape, Manuel." "It would be best for you to buy a new one in Maicao." "Better buy yourself a new one in Maicao, it will be cheap - the goods are all smuggled." "Don't invest any more money in this accordion!" "Papa?" "Hello." " Hello." "Papa, how are you?" "I'm going to Maicao." " Really?" "Yes, to buy an accordion." "That's what you told me to do." "Mine is broken." " I hope you find a good one." "Want to come along?" " No, I'm too old for trips like that." "Then we'll just take a taxi." "Rafa!" " Yes!" "Let's go!" "I am proud that God has returned my cousin to me." "We were very young when we were separated." "And now we meet again as experienced veterans," "who are good at their art." "Yes, he composed and I played the accordion." "We were about 12 years old." "I took my first steps with an accordion in my hands." "Then we lost touch, Rafael Valencia and I." "Until now: "Man, you still compose?"" ""And you still play?" "Come on, let's go!"" "Since then, we always travel together." "When I have a party," "when I drink..." "Where is Perro Negro, who plays guitarfor me?" "I enjoy love so much." "When I'm celebrating at a party, I don't think about death." "For example, I'll be lying in bed listening to the radio:" "They announce a festival in some village." ""Cousin, we're going!" - "Where to?"" ""I heard something on the radio!"" "And off we go!" "Then we arrive, without knowing a soul," "at the cultural center, und we introduce ourselves:" ""I'm Pacho Rada's son." "I'm Rafael Valencia."" ""What, you're Pacho Rada's son?" - "Yes, I really am!"" ""Then let's celebrate." "Let's see if you can really play the accordion!"" "And before long we've covered our travel costs." "Did you write the song "Caja Negra," Rafael Valencia?" "A lot of people are sceptical." "They expect a tall man with white skin and a fancy car." "They don't sing about reality these days." "They write a lot of lyrics to the songs," "but they are only fantasies about women, that's all." "Always some woman:" "You love me." "I love you." "If you leave, I'll die." "If you stay, I'll love you." "And you, you, you..." "And we don't even know who "you" is." "They don't even call the woman they are singing about by name." "They only say "you":" "I love you." "You love me." "You have left me..." "That's all they say." "The day is dawning." "It is 5 in the morning." "Wake up, Maria, wake up!" "Your Francisco is calling you!" "Back then, I told Maria that Francisco was calling her." "Now they have recorded that song and replaced "Francisco" with "your Negro."" "But who is "your Negro"?" "That could be anyone!" "This is the story of my father in El Dificil:" "He had a wife and two children." "Her name was Maria Ospino." "Then he fell in love with anotherwoman, my mother." "My motherwas the daughter of family with money," "and her parents were against the relationship," "because they were rich, and he was poor." "But the two of them were in love," "and he took off with her." "He lived with both women in Plato, and they never argued." "And all the people in Plato were totally amazed" "that Pacho Rada had 2 wives who were speaking to one another." "When he spent the day with my mother, he spent the night with Maria." "When he spent the day with Maria he came to my mother at night." "He ate 6 meals a day:" "3 here and 3 there." "He was happy." "I was pregnant with Alberto," "when Pacho fell in love with Manuel and Gregoria's mother." "But he loved me very much, and we were happy together." "I made friends with her, because I told myself that our lives would be more peaceful." "So his life wasn't bad, and neitherwas mine." "But then he stopped living up to his responsibilities." "I had to do all the washing, the ironing," "make the sweets that I sold" "to feed my 3 children." "You still have songs of mine in your head," "that have disappeared from mine:" "In Maria Ospino's head." "Isn't that right, Maria?" "You can't sing any more," "but what old songs of mine do you remember?" "Do you remember any of them?" "I remember..." ""Wake up, Maria,"" ""You'll see, Maria,"" "and the song about Escalona." "Francisco wakes up, it's true, because he was asleep, it's true." "He soon leaves for the festival, to make money to feed his children." "Francisco is awake, it's true," "and he is full of joy, it's true." "He soon returns from the festival, and spoils his wife." "I grew up with Abel Antonio Villa's music," "and Pacho Rada's, music of our "Papa," as I call him," "who perfected the music from the Magdalena region." "Back then, Vallenato music didn't exist yet:" "The music of Alejandro Duran, Enrique Martinez, Calixto Ochoa." "My love for Magdalena was so powerful" "that I started another band from my own group "Alfredo Gutierrez":" "The Ensemble "Caporales del Magdalena."" "As a musician" "I didn't escape the influences" "that, in various ways," "more or less all artists were subjected to:" "The influences from the drug era here on the Colombian coast." "The world of drugs" "is a part of ourfolklore " "it is even a part of the Vallenato music mentality." "Back in the 1970s" "the musicians identified with the drug people," "because they got support from them." "It also had to do with the success that many groups had." "They were encouraged to make studio recordings and advertise." "Accordions, televisions..." "All smuggled goods, even the toilet paper!" "Really?" " Yes, sure." "This one!" "Let's ask how much it costs." "This accordion is good." "How much is it?" " 1,600,000 Pesos." "1,600,000?" "This one sounds higher." "Higher and more harmonic." "This one is tuned to b, e and a." "This one is half a tone deeper." " Yes, the original tuning." "How would you like yours?" " Tuned to b, e and a." "Forwe Colombians," "accordions from Germany are the best accordions." "And, thank God," "almost all accordions pass through my workshop here," "where I retune them" "to the pitch we normally use here." "The accordions from Germany have the original tuning." "So we tune it higher," "depending on the needs of the singer." "Some are tuned very deeply," "then we have to tune them higher." "When they are tuned to e flat and f," "we have to retune them to g, depending on the singer." "Once I sent a sound tape to Germany," "so they would tune the accordion for me there," "like an accordion builder here would." "The accordions are retuned in workshops here." "The tape we sent to Germany" "was of one of my fastest pieces." "The people there were so impressed, they thought" "a computer, not a human being, had played it." ""The Story of Francisco El Hombre"" "The story goes that an accordion player challenged him to a duel." "He started by singing a verse, and the other one answered." "The other one was about to win," "then the man noticed that something was wrong." "At the last moment, Francisco El Hombre realized" "that he was dealing with the Devil." "Since he didn't have a chance, he took the only way out:" "He sang the Creed backwards." "And that scared the Devil away." "That is how he triumphed over the Devil." "This is Israel Romero." "Hello." "Could you take us with you?" "You are worrying about money." "Someone is sick at your house." "You don't feel well either- you have pain in one leg." "Yes, arthritis." "What can I do to relieve the arthritis?" "To relieve arthritis you mix marijuana with some rum" "and rub it into the painful spot." "Here is the winner!" "I love the art that my father taught me." "Thanks to my accordion, I even own a house." "I have participated in festivals," "have won prizes there, and even been named as a Jury member." "I have earned my living with making music." "I didn't have a house" " I earned one with my accordion." "No doubt about it:" "It's because of this accordion that" "I have this house where I live with my family." "An accordion is a blessing:" "It gives you women," "money, friends, problems," "and headaches as well." "In Colombia, we have a tradition:" "In Colombia, a festival among friends, even among millionaires," "isn't a true festival without an accordion." "Accordion, drum and wash board are all you need to celebrate." "It demands good care - it's the reason for my success." "I'm nothing at all without my accordion, a Nobody." "Festivals, rum, women," "and money- nothing is better than those things." "Afree life with an accordion band" "and a car that takes you cruising whenever you want." "That's how I want to live - getting escorted in style." "I, who own nothing except an accordion," "have a love to welcome me, no matterwhere I go." "You say that I am an old man, but I live like a Kolibri." "I live like a sailor:" "A love in every port." ""Festivals, rum, and women"" "Not "mujer," "muje"!" "The best things are festivals, rum and women" "and money, too." "That's the best." "And a free life with an accordion band." "From the mayor:" "To Francisco "Pacho" Rada, Santa Marta." ""Honored master, in recognition of your contribution" "to Vallenato music with the development of the "Son,"" "and the commitment which you, for more than 50 years," "have shown for this music, having become a living legend for us all," "which future generations will aspire to," "I have the pleasure of informing you that El Dificil" "will honor you at an event on November 29, 1998," "which we most sincerely invite you to attend," "here, in your home town." "Sincerely, Guillermo Enrique Sanchez, Mayor."" "So, they want to thank me for everything" "I have done." "I'm pleased about that." "If the Devil gave me money," "I would form an alliance with him." "And then I would hang up a cross made out of wood," "and ward him off with it." "That was when I was in a terrible financial situation." "I was very sad on that day," "because I was doing so badly." "And I thought:" "Damn it!" "If the Devil would only give me a little money," "I would surely be able to ward him off with a wooden cross." "Go for it!" "But then I decided not to have anything to do with the Devil." "I had hung" "crosses between the tree and the orange grove" "and from there to the kitchen." "One morning I was chopping wood." "It was the 9th of September," "and a strong wind was blowing," "as if it were about to rain." "The wind blew away my crosses." "And when I realized the crosses had fallen down," "I jumped up and yelled:" ""Shit, that was the Devil!"" "That's why the song goes:" "It was a September day, I was about to have breakfast," "and a strong wind was blowing." "I hung up my cross," "but the Devil tore it down." "Money seeks out money, that's what I always say." "Those who ask the Devil for money turn away from God." "I hung up my cross, but the Devil tore it down." "Attention, citizens of El Dificil!" "The king of Vallenato music is returning to his home town." "Come to the Honors Ceremony honoring the master Pacho Rada," "our town's most famous son." "The parade will take place tomorrow afternoon at three." "Don't miss this celebration!" "Is this the new accordion?" " Yes, this is it." "Good." "Let's see if it's any good." "Let's see how it sounds."