Lyrics:
[1] La promesa: Serenito, bolerista,
¡Venga conmigo, danos la gran vida!
La diosa que espero: puerta al éxito,
Sirena Selena vestida de pena.
[2] Vestida de pena, nuestra melodía,
Sin que cantemos, no nos vivemos;
Fronteras nos esperan, ritmos se tocarán,
Sirena Selena vestida de pena.
[3] Nueva identidad, la de prosperidad, no más brutalidad;
Sirena Selena vestida de pena, entra en escena.
SOLO – muted trumpet
[4] Pero cantando, ahora mezclando y enmascarando;
En escondite, todo se repite detrás la elite.
[5] La promesa: la Sirena, bolerista,
Nueva identidad, toda realidad;
Sirena lo sabe sí, la que convertí,
Frontera-frontera, ritmo de historia.
[6] Sirena Selena vestida de pena.
[7] Sirena Selena vestida de pena.
Introduction
This is an example submitted by a former student of the University College of London. In this example, the student reacts to Mayra Santos-Febres’ novel Sirena sirena vestida de pena through a song.
Assessment
This assignment was part of the module ‘Women’s Writing in Latin America’, as taught by Dr Natasha Tanna (University of York). The assessment of the module was composed of:
- A 1500 word commentary (40%)
- A 3000 words essay or a creative response piece along with 1500 word critical reflection (60%)
This work is an example of the latter.
Rationale
Creative work allowed students to react to core texts from a practical perspective, as well as engaging with ideas of gender as they were introduced as part of the course.
Further examples
More examples of this module’s assessments can be found here.
Creative modern languages 