Cholo Soy Y No Me Compadezcas

I am a cholo, do not pity me
For those are coins that are worthless
And given by the whites as if giving silver
We cholos ask for nothing
Because with everything missing
Everything is enough

Let me live freely in the highlands
Climbing the hills behind my goats
Plowing the land, weaving ponchos, grazing my llamas
And letting the wind carry the sound of my quena
You say I am sad, what do you want me to do?

Don't you say that the cholo is soulless
And that he is like a stone, without voice, without words
And cries inside, without showing tears

Wasn't it the whites who came from Spain
Who brought us death for gold and silver
There was a Pizarro who killed Atahualpa
After many promises, beautiful and false

So what do you want? What do you want me to do?
To be happy like a festive day
While my brothers bend their backs
For four cents that the boss pays them

Do you want me to laugh
While my brothers are beasts of burden
Carrying riches that others keep

Do you want laughter to widen my face
While my brothers live in the mountains like moles
Digging and digging
While those who don't work get rich

Do you want me to be happy
While my sisters go to rich houses
Just like slaves
I am a cholo, do not pity me

Let me live freely in the highlands
Climbing the hills behind my goats
Plowing the land, weaving ponchos, grazing my llamas
And letting the wind carry the sound of my quena
Leave me in peace, for here the mountain
Offers me its stones, perhaps softer
Than those condolences that you give me

I am a cholo, do not pity me!