Venice masks

Saturday, 20 April 2024

Bekita - Elis Juliana

Lady Bekita lifted up her skirt
And stalked into the ballroom
With a smile, with coquetry
With calculated steps
And complete body control
Bekita, Bekita,
Bekita, Bekita.

The gentlemen said:
This lady is just a pretty flower
filling the room with its perfume
smiling and showing her golden teeth
And swinging her red coral earrings
Bekita, Bekita,
Bekita, Bekita.

But when a gutsy old man
Dared to invite Bekita
To join him in the tumba,
He was flabbergasted
That such a delicate lady
Could sway her hips in total abandon:
Bekita, Bekita,
For whom did you take
Bekita, Bekita
Who did you think she was
Bekita, Bekita
Bekita, Bekita
Bekita, Bekita

Elis Juliana (1927 - 2013) Curaçao
Translated by Aart G. Broek
Source: Caraïbisch uitzicht (from: Callaloo, Volume 21, Number 3, Summer 1998, Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 576-577)

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