When this song came on–Penelope Cruz’s single-tear dropping performance–in the middle of Volver by Pedro Almodovar, I knew I loved it. This is the moment where Penelope Cruz earned her Oscar nomination. I stopped reading the subtitles, stopped trying to figure out the words, and I just listened to it. I think the Spanish language is a lot like music, I don’t have to pay attention to the words to get to the message. I’ve grown up listening to Spanish in my household, and while I understood most of it, I did not necessarily engage or even speak much of it. I’ve gotten by with the bare minimum of communicating in Spanish to my family members. It’s something I regret, because the language barrier in my family is really severe. My assimilated generation has been…betrayed a bit, but then again, it’s ME that didn’t make the effort.
The result of my lack of Spanish speaking ability has left me with a detached admiration and almost cultural reverence for Spanish. And when I do pick up on something, it feels like a secret, and I feel like ancient muscles are being remembered–like phantom limbs that have long been excised are suddenly being tickled again. And damn! Penelope Cruz singing with Estrella Morente’s voice is confronting you: “why did you leave???” and “come back!!”, and I’m like the mother, and all I can do is stay away, hiding and crying. GO watch the movie!!!
mp3: Estrella Morente “Volver“
