Viva Amalia, viva Italia

Amalia e,

Yo soy de Amalia
Amalia, Amalia e

I've often wondered about the words Amalia, and Amaliano, and why they come up so often in rumba lyrics.

Amalia, este su nombre
Qué lindo nombre de mujer...

As the song tells us, Amalia is a feminine given name. It seems it was never extremely popular but not uncommon either, especially among the Dutch, Germans, Finns, Spanish and Italians. It seems to have been most popular in the 1800's, declining rapidly after that.

A report from the Netherlands gives us some background:

The name Amalia goes back to Amalia van Solms (1602-1675), the wife of Frederik Hendrik and mother of King Willem II. According to historians, she was a strong woman who did not shun political influence. Amalia in ancient Germanic cultures stood for exertion, particularly in battle.

It is said to derive "from the Germanic 'amal' meaning 'work, labor, effort, strain', and also "may be taken as a variant of the Hebrew Amalya, meaning "work of the Lord"."

So how does an ancient Germanic or Hebrew name become so common in rumba?

Dicen que en Jesús María
Hay una comparsa
Que tocan tambores
Cantamos, tocamos tambores
Para que la gente baile
¿Bueno y qué?
¿Bueno y qué?
¿Qué les hacemos a esos?

Nosotros los Amalianos señores
Sabemos divertirnos
Por eso los invitamos
Para que vengan a gozar
A mi Amalia

So it seems Amalia is linked to the barrio of Jesús María. But why?

It's probably impossible to know for certain, but Yamira Rodríguez Marcano tells us one version of the story here:

Poblado hacia la segunda década del siglo XVIII, con el nombre de San José del Astillero, debido al establecimiento de este último, el barrio de Jesús María, en La Habana antigua de extramuros, continua siendo hoy uno de sus términos más populares.

En 1753 en la Calle Real de Jesús María, hoy Revillagigedo, fue levantada una ermita a Jesús María y José que le dio nuevo nombre a la barriada.

Con esta calle se asocia una de las leyendas más vivas de Jesús María.

Cuentan que en ella vivió una negra llamada Amalia, protectora de revolucionarios y esclavos perseguidos por las autoridades coloniales, los escondía y les facilitaba la salida como polizontes hacia Haití u otras tierras, era además la Madrina de los centros ñáñigos del barrio, lo que hizo que los humildes habitantes ayudados por ella, se autonombraran, hijos de Amalia.

Así se conocían en el siglo XIX y de ahí que se derive que a los de Jesús María, se les llame amalianos.


In the second decade of the 18th century, a barrio known as San José del Astillero began to grow up around the extramural shipyards of Havana. In 1753, an hermitage called Jesús María y José was built on the Calle Real de Jesús María (today Revillagigedo), thus giving the neighborhood a new name, "Jesús María."

This street is linked to one of the barrio's most vivid legends.

They say that a black woman named Amalia lived there, who protected revolucionaries and fugitive slaves, hiding them and helping them escape as cops (?) to Haiti or other countries. She was also the madrina of the Ñañigo centers in the barrio. The humble inhabitants whom she had helped began calling themselves "hijos de Amalia" (children of Amalia).

That's how they were known in the 19th century and that's why those from Jesús María are called amalianos.

So phrases like "yo soy de Amalia," "yo soy amaliano" are just the rumberos' way of saying they are from the barrio of Jesús María, and paying tribute to their own "strong woman" who in her own way was doing "the Lord's work," helping the oppressed find their way to freedom.

About another frequent and curious occurrence of Amalia in rumba, El Goyo adds:

La frontera entre Jesús Maria y Los Sitios La avenida Italia, que actualmente se llama Monte. Los rumberos de Los Sitios dijeron: si los rumberos de Jesus María dicen que son de Amalia, entonces nosotros somos de Italia. Es por eso que cuando un rumbero dice "Viva Amalia, viva ITALIA", esta diciendo: "Viva Jesús Maria, viva Los Sitios".

The border between Jesús María and Los Sitios was Avenida Italia (today known as Monte). The rumberos of Los Sitios said: If the rumberos of Jesús María say they are from Amalia, then we are from Italia. That's why, when a rumbero says "Viva Amalia, viva ITALIA, he's saying, "Viva Jesús María, viva Los Sitios."