El Aguante – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Calle 13
• Album: MultiViral

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the lyrical depth and unique musicality of Calle 13's "El Aguante" to enrich your Spanish language learning. This song offers a vivid journey through a rich vocabulary related to human struggles and resilience, exploring themes of endurance, resistance, and social commentary. Its powerful message, combined with a captivating blend of hip-hop and Celtic-Balkan influences, makes it a compelling and memorable piece that showcases the band's distinctive artistic expression and offers a dynamic way to connect with the nuances of Spanish.

[English]

We were born to endure what the body can take

We endure what has come and we endure what is to come

We endure even if we have only seconds left

Our body can withstand being choked for up to fifteen minutes

We endure lashes, having both arms cut off

Fractures in any bone, three weeks with a cast

We endure the urge to go to the bathroom all the time

To see Halley's comet, you have to endure seventy years

We endure school, college, the institute

At dinner time, we hold back our burps

The people of Burundi continue to endure hunger

We endure three days to reach the Moon

We endure the cold of the Arctic, the heat of the Tropics

We endure with antibodies against microscopic viruses

We endure storms, hurricanes, bad weather

We endured Nagasaki, we endured Hiroshima

Even if we don't want to, we endure new laws

We endure today that there are still kings

We punish the humble and endure the cruel

We endure being slaves because of our skin color

We endure capitalism, communism, socialism, feudalism

We endure even the foolishness

We endure the guilty when they play innocent

We endure every year our p--- president

For what was and for what could have been

For what there is, for what may be missing

For what is to come and for this moment

To toast to endurance

For what was and for what could have been

For what there is, for what may be missing

For what is to come and for this moment

Raise your glass and toast to endurance

To toast to endurance

...

We endure any kind of pain even if it hurts us

We endured Pinochet, we endured Videla

Franco, Mao, Ríos, Mon, Mucabe, Hitler, Idi Amin

Stalin, Bush, Truman, Ariel Sharon, and Hussein

We endured more than twenty concentration camps

When you swim underwater, you hold your breath

To build a wall, we endure the bricks

Those who don’t smoke endure the smell of cigarettes

We endure Monsanto infecting our food

We endure Agent Orange and pesticides

When we sail, we endure seasickness

We endure the minimum wage and unemployment

We endure the Falklands and the British invasion

In the city of Pompeii, we endured volcanic lava

And within the logic of our humanity

We believe the lie and no one can bear the truth

For what was and for what could have been

For what there is, for what may be missing

For what is to come and for this moment

Raise your glass and toast to endurance

To toast to endurance

We endure the atheist, the Mormon, the Christian

The Buddhist, the Jew, we endure the pagan

We endure the one who sells bullets and the one who fires them

We endure the death of Lennon, that of Víctor Jara

We endure many wars: Vietnam, the Cold War

The Hundred Years' War, the Six-Day War

Let them endure the revenge, we come for the payback

Today our liver endures whatever the bar invites

...

For what was and for what could have been

For what there is, for what may be missing

For what is to come and for this moment

To toast to endurance

For what was and for what could have been

For what there is, for what may be missing

For what is to come and for this moment

Raise your glass and toast to endurance

To toast to endurance!

...

[Spanish]

Nacimos para aguantar lo que el cuerpo sostiene

Aguantamos lo que vino y aguantamos lo que viene

Aguantamos aunque tengamos los segundos contados

Nuestro cuerpo aguanta hasta quince minutos ahorcado

Aguantamos latigazos, que nos corten los dos brazos

Fracturas en cualquier hueso, tres semanas con un yeso

Aguantamos todo el tiempo las ganas de ir al baño

Pa ver el cometa Halley, hay que aguantar setenta años

Aguantamos la escuela, la facultad, el instituto

A la hora de cenar nos aguantamos los eructos

El pueblo de Burundi sigue aguantando la hambruna

Aguantamos tres días para llegar a la Luna

Aguantamos el frío del Ártico, el calor del Trópico

Aguantamos con anticuerpos los virus microscópicos

Aguantamos las tormentas, huracanes, el mal clima

Aguantamos Nagasaki, aguantamos Hiroshima

Aunque no queramos, aguantamos nuevas leyes

Aguantamos hoy por hoy que todavía existan reyes

Castigamos al humilde y aguantamos al cruel

Aguantamos ser esclavos por nuestro color de piel

Aguantamos el capitalismo, el comunismo, el socialismo, el feudalismo

Aguantamos hasta el pendejismo

Aguantamos al culpable cuando se hace el inocente

Aguantamos cada año a nuestro p--- presidente

Por lo que fue y por lo que pudo ser

Por lo que hay, por lo que puede faltar

Por lo que venga y por este instante

A brindar por el aguante

Por lo que fue y por lo que pudo ser

Por lo que hay, por lo que puede faltar

Por lo que venga y por este instante

Levanta el vaso y a brindar por el aguante

A brindar por el aguante

Aguantamos cualquier tipo de dolor aunque nos duela

Aguantamos Pinochet, aguantamos a Videla

A Franco, Mao, Ríos, Mon, Mucabe, Hitler, Idi Amin

Stalin, Bush, Truman, Ariel Sharon y Husein

Aguantamos más de veinte campos de concentración

Cuando nadas bajo el agua aguantas la respiración

Pa construir una pared, aguantamos los ladrillos

El que no fuma se aguanta el olor a cigarrillo

Aguantamos que Monsanto infecte nuestra comida

Aguantamos el agente naranja y los pesticidas

Cuando navegamos, aguantamos el mareo

Aguantamos el salario mínimo y el desempleo

Aguantamos las Malvinas y la invasión británica

En la ciudad de Pompeya aguantamos lava volcánica

Y dentro de la lógica de nuestra humanidad

Nos creemos la mentira y nadie aguanta la verdad

Por lo que fue y por lo que pudo ser

Por lo que hay, por lo que puede faltar

Por lo que venga y por este instante

Levanta el vaso y a brindar por el aguante

A brindar por el aguante

Aguantamos al ateo, al mormón, al cristiano

Al budista, al judío, aguantamos al pagano

Aguantamos el que vende balas y el que las dispara

Aguantamos la muerte de Lennon, la de Víctor Jara

Aguantamos muchas guerras: Vietnam, la Guerra Fría

La Guerra de los Cien Años, la Guerra de los Seis días

Que aguanten la revancha, venimos al desquite

Hoy nuestro hígado aguanta lo que la barra invite

Por lo que fue y por lo que pudo ser

Por lo que hay, por lo que puede faltar

Por lo que venga y por este instante

A brindar por el aguante

Por lo que fue y por lo que pudo ser

Por lo que hay, por lo que puede faltar

Por lo que venga y por este instante

Levanta el vaso y a brindar por el aguante

¡A brindar por el aguante!

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
aguantar /a.ɣ̞wanˈtaɾ/ B1	verb - to endure, to tolerate, to withstand
cuerpo /ˈkweɾ.po/ A1	noun - body
tiempo /ˈtjem.po/ A1	noun - time
pueblo /ˈpwe.β̞lo/ A2	noun - town, people
frío /ˈfɾi.o/ A1	adjective - cold noun - cold
calor /kaˈloɾ/ A1	noun - heat
dolor /doˈloɾ/ A2	noun - pain
agua /ˈa.ɣ̞wa/ A1	noun - water
guerra /ˈɡe.ra/ B1	noun - war
verdad /beɾˈdad/ A2	noun - truth
vaso /ˈba.so/ A1	noun - glass
leyes /ˈleʝes/ B1	noun - laws
presidente /pɾe.siˈðen.te/ A2	noun - president
hígado /ˈi.ɣ̞i.ð̞a.o/ B1	noun - liver
salario /saˈla.ɾjo/ B1	noun - salary

Key Grammar Structures

• Nacimos para aguantar lo que el cuerpo sostiene

  ➔ Purpose clause with "para" + infinitive; relative clause with "lo que"

  ➔ "Para" expresses the purpose. "Lo que" acts as a relative pronoun meaning 'what' or 'that which'. The sentence means: 'We were born to endure what the body holds'.

• Aguantamos lo que vino y aguantamos lo que viene

  ➔ Preterite vs. Present tense for past and future events; use of "lo que" as a relative pronoun

  ➔ "Vino" (came) is in the preterite tense, referring to something that already happened. "Viene" (comes) is in the present tense, referring to something that is coming. "Lo que" refers to 'that which'. The sentence means: 'We endured what came and we endure what comes'.

• Pa ver el cometa Halley, hay que aguantar setenta años

  ➔ Impersonal "hay que" + infinitive to express obligation; "pa" as colloquial for "para"

  ➔ "Hay que" expresses a necessity or obligation. "Pa" is a colloquial shortening of "para". The sentence means: 'To see Halley's comet, one has to endure seventy years'.

• Pa construir una pared, aguantamos los ladrillos

  ➔ Purpose clause with "pa" (colloquial "para") + infinitive; direct object pronoun implied (los ladrillos)

  ➔ "Pa construir" (to build) is a shortened version of "para construir". "Los ladrillos" is the direct object of "aguantamos", though the pronoun is not explicitly stated. The sentence means 'To build a wall, we endure [carrying] the bricks'.

• Por lo que fue y por lo que pudo ser

  ➔ Use of "por" + "lo que" + past tenses (preterite and conditional) to express reasons or considerations about past events

  ➔ "Por lo que" means 'because of what'. "Fue" (was) is in the preterite tense, and "pudo ser" (could have been) is in the conditional perfect tense. The phrase means: 'For what was and for what could have been'.

• Aguantamos Pinochet, aguantamos a Videla

  ➔ Use of the personal "a" before a direct object that is a person (Videla)

  ➔ The personal "a" is required before human direct objects in Spanish. It doesn't have a direct translation to English. 'We endured Pinochet, we endured Videla'.

• Nos creemos la mentira y nadie aguanta la verdad

  ➔ Reflexive verb "creerse" (to believe in oneself / to consider oneself); contrasting "nadie" (nobody) with affirmative verb

  ➔ "Creerse" in this context means 'to believe in oneself'. "Nadie" means nobody, but is used with a positive verb. The sentence means: 'We believe the lie and nobody endures the truth'.