Temporal
Composed by Diana Sáez and Suzzette Ortiz, Temporal is a traditional plena from Puerto Rico. Plena is an Afro-Puerto Rican rhythm that blends melodic and rhythmic elements from Spanish and African musical influences. Temporal means storm, but it can also refer to the hurricanes that are common in the Caribbean. This arrangement pays tribute to the resilience shown by the people of Puerto Rico after surviving the hurricanes that hit the island in 2017. Diana Sáez captures the essence of the plena in this authentic and accessible choral arrangement and Suzzette Ortiz compliments the music with Afro-Caribbean rhythmic flavors in the piano accompaniment.
This arrangement can be performed without the piano part, but we encouraged the use of percussion. The güiro is used to accentuate the rhythms of the plena and is part of the native inhabitant taíno culture left into the island’s musical heritage.
The conga part substitutes the Plena panderos, the authentic Puerto Rican hand drums created for the plena genre. They consist of a set of three different sized hand drums, each playing its own ostinato rhythmic pattern. The rhythm used for the conga drum is a combination of two of these rhythmic patterns.
Transcription
Spanish
Allá viene, allá viene el temporal Temporal, temporal Allá viene el temporal. Que será de Puerto Rico Cuando llegue el temporal? Que será de mi Borinquen* Cuando llegue el temporal? Se levanta el pueblo Al son de los tambores No nos tumba el viento Ni diez mil temblores Somos resilientes, Somos luchadores No nos tumba el viento Ni diez mil temblores.
English
There comes! There comes the storm! Storm, storm There comes the storm What will become of Puerto Rico When the storm arrives What will become of my Borinquen* When the storm arrives The people arise To the rhythm of the drums The wind cannot bring us down Nor ten thousand earthquakes We are resilient We are warriors The wind cannot bring us down Nor ten thousand earthquakes
* Note: Borinquen or Boriquén or Borikén is the Taíno name for Puerto Rico.
