Lyrics and music of Nanahual were conceived simultaneously as a unified creative process of music and poetry. Nanahual was inpired by a nahuatl legend that describes a remote time when the son was absent. Darkness and cold had invaded earth. The gods had met to decide who would be the one who will burn in fire to bring the sun and the light back. The only god who volunteered to sacrifice his life was Nanahual, who was ill, ugly, poor, and the less powerful among all gods. The composer suggests the use of lights and colors during the performance to reinforce the relationship between darkness and light in the poem.

Lyrics (written by the composer):

casi siento el alba

entre la obscura presencia

el color, la ausencia

tal cual la noche

pudiese ser eterna

sin luz, a tientas me acerco ya

dentro tengo tanta sed

tan potente es mi ansia de luz

en la distancia otras siluetas que ascienden

vuelan entre cenizas tangentes

de mi pasado

son tan cristalinas que casi puedo olvidar…

yo y la noche

callada y sin estrellas

mi cuerpo mortal tiembla ante el fuego

la luz de una pared salta

tan incomprensible salta, vuela

y vuela y me devora

nado dentro de espirales de humo,

fuego y redes de luz

el alba nace de mis ojos cerrados

el tiempo

ojos de luz cerrados…

cerrados

 

Translation to English:

I almost feel the sunrise,

among the dark presence,

color, absence…

as it is, the night

could be eternal

I get close without any light

I am so thirsty

so strong is my longing for light

in the distance other shadows ascending

they fly among ashes

of my past

they are so clear that I can almost forget…

I and the night

silent, without stars

my mortal body tremble in fire

the light of a wall jumps

so incomprehensible it jumps, fly

and devores me

I swim in smoky spirals,

fire and light

The sun rises from my closed eyes

time…

eyes of light, closed…

closed