Chiquitita, in Spanish

Alternate Titles: Colombian Grampa’s Song Choices, TransLuz and USB Drives

Today I heard the Spanish version of Chiquitita for the first time. 

The driver of my TransLuz van was the perfect grandpa-looking type. He was tall with a large belly and wisps of fine white hair on his head, eyebrows, and arms. I sat in the passenger seat next to him for 7 hours, from Monteria to Barranquilla. Between us sat a small navy blue Totto backpack; the kind with multiple compartments and sleeves. I imagine a 6 year old boy using it as his school bag. 

Five minutes into our drive up the coast, he unzips the front-most pocket and reaches in. I hear the jingle of small metal objects banging into each other. He pulls out six, maybe seven, thumb drives, each with a weathered hand written label on the front. He shuffles them around in his palm a moment longer and then plugs one into the van’s sound system. Abba’s Chiquitita begins playing, but the lyrics are different. They are in Spanish, and they are better.