El Niño Yuntero

Joan Manuel Serrat's song "El Niño Yuntero" is a powerful and evocative portrayal of the harsh realities faced by child laborers. The lyrics, rich in imagery and emotion, paint a vivid picture of a young boy born into a life of toil and hardship. The opening lines, "Carne de yugo, ha nacido más humillado que bello," immediately set the tone, describing the boy as being born under the yoke, more humiliated than beautiful. This metaphor of the yoke symbolizes the heavy burden and oppression that the child endures from birth, destined to a life of relentless labor.

The song delves deeper into the boy's existence, likening him to a tool meant for enduring blows, born from a discontented land and an unsatisfied plow. The imagery of the boy's soul being "color de olivo vieja y ya encallecida" (olive-colored, old, and calloused) underscores the premature aging and hardening of his spirit due to the grueling work. As he begins to live, he simultaneously starts to die, lifting the crust of the earth with his yoke, feeling life as a constant battle, and laboriously striking the bones of the earth.

Serrat's lyrics also highlight the boy's lack of awareness of his age, yet his deep understanding of the weight of his labor, symbolized by the "corona grave de sal" (grave crown of salt) for the farmer. The boy's life is a cycle of work and suffering, becoming more rooted in the earth each day, listening to the voice of the grave beneath his feet. The song poignantly expresses the pain and empathy felt for this child, whose existence is a constant struggle. The closing lines call for salvation, questioning who will save this child smaller than a grain of oats and suggesting that the hammer to break this chain must come from the hearts of the laborers themselves, who were once children like him.