Canto a Mi Tierra, lyrics and music by Mariel Masque
All rights to the lyrics and music reserved.

Song Writing

During my early teens, I found inspiration in the music of Soledad Bravo, Vitas Brenner, Simon Diaz, and Mercedes Sosa. As I observed the world around me, I felt a knot in my gut that writing alone could not untangle. I turned to music to express my thoughts and emotions. I started by playing the cuatro, a four-string guitar used in Venezuelan folklore, and later developed a passion for the acoustic guitar. I joined a school estudiantina as a guitar player and eventually formed a small band.

From a young age, I used songwriting to protest social and environmental injustices. During rush hour, I would climb onto the Spanish tile roof and play my guitar as traffic passed.

When I left Venezuela, my second homeland, I began to write songs infused with nostalgia. "Canto a Mi Tierra" is dedicated to the Venezuelan "llanos," or plains. Most Llanera music is poetry that pays tribute to llanos pasillaneando on horseback. "Canto a Mi Tierra" is a song from a Llanera in exile who longs to return to her llanura.

Las Flores de Tu Jardin

The muse inspiring this short poem was a hibiscus flower, a marvel of nature, growing in a pot on my kitchen’s patio. The Cayena bush flowers, by their Caribbean name, were my mother’s favorite. Gardening helped mami manage the aftermath of her migraines and severe depression.

As I penned the poem, I felt a connection to the words beyond mere admiration. It was a song waiting to be sung. Dicho y hecho, I heard my mother's soprano voice, interpreting her favorite song, "Las Perlas de Tu Boca" by Las Hermanas Marti, recorded in the LP "Asi Cantaba Cuba" many hurricane seasons ago.

This song/poem, in Spanish, is a dedication to the strongest Mujer I ever met, my mother. And can be sang to the melody of Las Perlas de Tu Boca.

Las Flores de Tu Jardín

Esas flores
que se abren con tu encanto
en lindo capullo
de verde esperanza
quiero verte cultivar
con loco antojo
en las alas de un jardín
enamorado.

Esas flores
que provocan tu sonrisa
las cultivas con amor y ansía loca

Ese aroma
que regalan a la briza
reflejan tu presencia
en mi jardín.

Mariel Masque

"Nunca son mas bellas las playas del destierro que cuando se les dice adios."

José Julián Martí Pérez