La Pomeña (Girl From La Poma)
Pedro Aznar
The Enigmatic Beauty of Eulogia Tapia in 'La Pomeña'
Pedro Aznar's song 'La Pomeña' is a poetic and evocative tribute to a woman named Eulogia Tapia from La Poma, a small town in Argentina. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of Eulogia, who seems to embody the natural beauty and cultural richness of her homeland. The song opens by describing how Eulogia's tenderness is so profound that it seems to permeate the air around her. This metaphor suggests that her presence has a transformative effect on her surroundings, elevating the mundane to the magical.
The imagery of Eulogia stepping on the moon as she walks over the sand further enhances her ethereal quality. This line implies that she is not just an ordinary woman but someone with a celestial or otherworldly essence. The wheat maturing by her waist and her black eyes turning blue when she looks at alfalfa flowers are metaphors that highlight her connection to nature and her ability to bring life and color to everything she touches.
The song also touches on themes of loss and longing. The willow tree crying for Eulogia because she is being taken away for carnival suggests a sense of impending separation and sorrow. The carnival, often a time of celebration, here becomes a bittersweet event, marking a departure rather than a joyous occasion. The final verses describe Eulogia covered in flour and sand, chanting and disenchanting her sorrows, and riding a white horse with a trembling drum in her hands. These images evoke a sense of ritual and mysticism, as if Eulogia is performing a sacred act to cope with her emotions. The dark dahlia she becomes at night symbolizes her complexity and the layers of her identity, both seen and hidden.