Ser Como El Aire Libre – Agustín Lira & Alma

Artists: Agustín Lira and Alma

Song: Ser Como El Aire Libre (Be Free Like the Wind)

Year Released: 2016

Composer: Agustín Lira

Genre: Anglo Folk

Agustín Lira is a notorious Chicano protest singer, protesting alongside Cesar Chavez for farmworkers' rights. Back then, none of Lira's songs were ever recorded or written down. Even to find the written lyrics—and its translation—required some digging. This translates to the folk-style of the music, like a tradition passed down from protestor to protestor, house to house, generation to generation.

These lyrics tell the tale of a mother who wishes to protect her son from the dangers of the world around them. It is likely that she prefers to do as she is told in a country that is unforgiving to farmworkers, and immigrants at that. As she tries to instill this in her son, the son grows up and longs to have the freedoms of all that he feels can come and go as they please. The singer recognizes the injustice in their living conditions and wishes to be free like the wind.

The instrumentation is the perfect pairing to the lyrics as it is acoustic, with deep, stretched notes from the singer. The longing is present in these notes, the cultural ties notable in the guitar's strumming.

Connection to Playlist

This selection refers to the playlist's title of Glory because of the glory that comes from being truly free. The wind, the dove, and the sea provide farmworkers a sense of calm and peace in the long, arduous days out on the fields.

Resources

Agustín Lira, Ser como el aire libre, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Xb8px7aTk.

Felix Contreras, Review: Agustín Lira "Songs of Hope and Struggle, https://www.npr.org/2016/06/16/482176476/first-listen-agust-n-lira-songs-of-hope-and-struggle.

Folk Song Lyrics Archive, Ser como el aire libre, https://songbat.com/archive/songs/latin-american/ser-como-el-aire-libre.