Recently I came across a song I haven’t heard in close to a year. It’s an Argentinian tango called “Tenemos Esperanza” (We have Hope). Written by Rev. Federico J. Pagura (Argentina) and Homero Perera (Uruguay) in response to the Dirty War of Argentina in the 1970s, the song is part of the “Porque” (Why) trilogy. The three songs, Tenemos Esperanza, Porque El Venció (Because He Overcame), and Porque Hay un Mundo (Because There is a World), attempt to help people answer the questions everyone was asking: why is this happening and has God abandoned us?
I first heard the song early on in my time in Colombia, but I couldn’t understand most of the words. Like most songs I heard in church at that time, I picked up only a few words of the chorus, in this case the title, “tenemos esperanza.” When I heard it again a few weeks ago I recognized the tune immediately, but this time I understood what it meant, and why this Argentinian song had made it all the way to Colombia.
In times of suffering, we find ourselves asking, where is God? Where is God in a country that has been at war with itself for half a century? Where is God when that country’s own government and citizens try to derail a chance for peace? Where is God when millions are displaced from their homes? Where is God when there is no justice?
Yet God reminds us, He is here. God is in the human rights defenders and faith leaders who risk their lives to work for peace. God is in the victories, small and large, that signal a new and better future. God is in the people who refuse to lose hope. And God is with every person in the midst of their suffering. In the words of Rev. Pagura:
Porque El entró en el mundo y en la historia; porque El quebró el silencio y la agonía; porque llenó la tierra de su gloria; porque fue luz en nuestra noche fría. Porque nació en un pesebre oscuro; porque vivió sembrando amor y vida; porque partió los corazones duros y levantó las almas abatidas. (Coro) Por eso es que hoy tenemos esperanza; por eso es que hoy luchamos con porfía; por eso es que hoy miramos con confianza, el porvenir en esta tierra mía. Por eso es que hoy tenemos esperanza; por eso es que hoy luchamos con porfía; por eso es que hoy miramos con confianza, el porvenir. Porque atacó a ambiciosos mercaderes y denunció maldad e hipocresía; porque exaltó a los niños, las mujeres y rechazó a los que de orgullo ardían. Porque El cargó la cruz de nuestras penas y saboreó la hiel de nuestros males; porque aceptó sufrir nuestra condena, y así morir por todos los mortales. (Coro) Porque una aurora vio su gran victoria sobre la muerte, el miedo, las mentiras; ya nada puede detener su historia, ni de su Reino eterno la venida (Coro) | Because he came into the world and history, Because he broke the silence and the agony, Because he filled the earth with his glory Because he was light in our cold night. Because he was born in a dark manger, Because he lived sowing love and life, Because he opened up the hard hearts And lifted up the downcast souls (Chorus) That’s why we have hope today That’s why we fight tenaciously today That’s why today we look with confidence To the future of this land of mine That’s why we have hope today That’s why we fight tenaciously today That’s why today we look with confidence To the future Because he attacked the ambitious merchants, And denounced evil and hypocrisy, Because he exalted the children, the women, And rejected those who burn with pride Because he carried the cross of our suffering And tasted the bitterness of our ills Because he accepted to suffer our condemnation And thus died for all mortals (Chorus) Because a dawn saw his great victory Over death, the fear, the lies Now nothing can stop his story, Or the coming of his eternal Kingdom (Chorus) |