La Galana I La Mar, the Song
La Galana I La Mar is a traditional Ladino song, Ladino being the language of Sephardic* Jews, who were expelled from Spain and Portugal in 1492. *For more about Sephardic Jews, click https://folkdancefootnotes.org/culture/ethnicity-history-geography/jews-mizrahi-sephardim-ashkenazi/
Mor Kabasi sang La Galana I La Mar live many times in many places.
Others have also sung the song
Salonica or Rhodes?
Whether the song is “from” Rhodes (as claimed by Elli Giannaki, & Laura Shannon), or Salonica, (as claimed by Marcora and implied by Yiannatou), all agree it is from the Sephardic tradition.
In a 2020 posting by the Jewish Music Research Centre (Jerusalem) titled “La Galana: A Very Old-New Sephardic Song” https://jewish-music.huji.ac.il/en/content/22959 the author writes “The song was apparently very popular at the time it was recorded commercially in Istanbul in 1909 by the Compagnie Espagnole de Salonique (CES), a studio ensemble comprising the most popular Sephardic singers of Salonica.” The posting includes audio examples of this recording, plus another from that era, and yet another similar-sounding recording from Rhodes. To my untrained ear, none of these recordings resemble the currently-popular melody of La Galana I La Mar, nor do the lyrics included resemble current lyrics. La Galana and La Galana I La Mar seem like two different unrelated songs. I added the link so you can judge for yourself.
Lyrics
There are MANY versions of the lyrics, as befits a hundreds-year-old folk song. Several can be found here. Laura Shannon used the same lyrics as are found on the the Savina Yannatou release, except the 4th and 5th verses are reversed. Below I’ve reproduced the Laura Shannon lyrics, as they are the most popular among recreational folk dancers. Reprinted with Laura’s permission from the ©2016 CD Limani, available at https://laurashannon.net/cds-booklets
Muchachica está en el baño The maiden is in the ritual bath
Vestida de colorado Dressed in red
Echate a la mar Jump into the sea
Echate a la mar y alcanza Jump into the sea to reach him
Echate a la mar Jump into the sea
A la mar yo bien me echava I would gladly jump into the sea
Si la suegra licensia me dava If my mother-in-law would allow me
Echate a la mar Jump into the sea
Echate a la mar y alcanza Jump into the sea and reach him
Echate a la mar Jump into the sea
Ya salio de la mar la galana The graceful woman came out of the sea
Con un vestido rosal y blanco In a dress embroidered with roses
Ya salió de la mar.... She already came out of the sea
La novia ya salió del baño The bride came out of the ritual bath
El novio ya la está asperando The bridegroom is waiting for her
Ya salió de la mar.... She already came out of the sea
Entre la mar y el rio Between the sea and the river
Mos creció en árbol de bembrillo A quince tree grew for us
Ya salió de la mar.... She already came out of the sea
Entre la mar y la arena Between the sea and the sand
Mos creció un arbol de almendra An almond tree grew for us
Ya salió de la mar.... She already came out of the sea
For more on Sephardic wedding traditions, and how they differ from Ashkenazic, click
https://ketubahazoulayart.com/sephardic-wedding/
Hora la Galana, the dance
Below is an excerpt from the notes Laura Shannon wrote in her booklet ©2016 Limani, a companion to her CD Limani. Reprinted with Laura’s permission. The complete booklet is available at https://laurashannon.net/cds-booklets
“There are many circle dance choreographies to this song. We have chosen to dance traditional Eastern European Jewish Klezmer* dance steps, adapted to fit the melodic phrasing as well as the motifs of initiation present in the text of the song. I have named this arrangement ‘Hora la Galana’, ‘Dance of the Elegant Woman’ after the song words.”
Laura [in personal correspondence] adds: In keeping with the improvisational nature of East European Jewish dance steps, the handhold can vary. Possibilities include: W hold throughout; V hold throughout; V hold in the first part, rising into W hold going into the centre, returning to V hold coming back out of the centre; holding candle in L hand with R hand on own heart or on neighbour’s L shoulder; dancing with a candle held in both hands; etc.
*For more about Klezmer, and Yiddish dance steps, click here and here.
*S stands for Song, a category I apply to part of the repertoire of recreational folk dancers. Songs are just that – songs, or sometimes merely melodies, that are well-known in their country of origin, but aren’t necessarily associated with any particular dance. They may be traditional folk songs, or pop songs written in the folk style, or ‘pure’ pop creations that are dance-able. People will dance to them, but there is no culturally agreed upon ‘traditional’ dance that is particular to that song, just as we don’t associate any particular dance with “Blowin’ in the Wind” or “Lady Madonna”. For more on songs, click https://folkdancefootnotes.org/music/1-songs/
**2 stands for 2nd generation dance. A simple definition of a 2nd Generation folk dance (2ndG) is any dance that isn’t 1stG. More specifically it’s the context in which the dance was created – formal (2nd existence) rather than informal (1st Existence); conscious creation for a specific purpose rather than gradual evolution in a native context – that separates 1stG & 2ndG dances.
1stG dances are generic – no fixed choreography, length, sequence, or music. It may have a formulaic pattern like, say, the Taproot Dance, but that pattern can vary from person to person according to age, gender, ability, even mood. Many different songs or instrumental arrangements may be associated with the dance. In a dance line, people may be doing different variations at the same time, as long as they don’t interrupt the flow of the dance.
2ndG dances, on the other hand, are specific – usually pegged to a specific song with a specific arrangement. The choreography often matches a particular recording and will only work with that recording. Everyone in the line does the same step at the same time. The dance may be a combination of the best bits from several similar dances. It may be the creation of a choreographer who liked a recording and wanted to have “authentic” footwork attached to it.
For more detail on 1st & 2nd Existence situations, see A “Real” folk dance – what is it?
Folkdance Footnotes 