En Lo Puro No Hay Futuro

My uncle was my cousin
from a friend of my grandfather
who was Native American
who had fallen in love
with a 'tico patuá'
who was born on a schooner
crowded with slaves
that were stolen from Jamaica.

In the pure there is no future
purity lies in the mix
in the mix of the pure
that before being pure was mixed.

My uncle's mother
married a gypsy
who played the guitar
with six fingers on his hand
and accompanied a 'payo'
who sang bulerías
with a man from Chicago
who claimed to be his brother.

In the pure...

They say my grandfather
was a blond banana worker
who arrived in Cuba from Spain
to stay in Havana
and that on his way to Santiago
he met a mulatto woman
a mix of tobacco and sugar cane
who spoke to him in French.

Gentlemen, in the pure there is no future
gentlemen, purity lies in the mix
gentlemen, in the mix of the pure
gentlemen, that before being pure was mixed