bout de papier, Vol. 5, No. 3 (1987) — Fall 1987 // Automne 1987, pp. 44–45
Two years ago this was the thought on the minds of many people. The songs written and recorded for the starving children of Africa, the discovery by rock stars and media personalities of “alternative diplomacy” and the transition of many “baby boomers” from a “me” attitude to a greater awareness of the needs of others had a very special impact on me personally since I am not only a diplomat by profession and a “baby boomer” by inclination but also a musician and songwriter.
While watching the “Live Aid” concert I remember thinking how it would be if I could someday do something for children with my music — perhaps a grandiose dream for an unknown and non-professional (but always aspiring) singer/songwriter. Little did I know that, even in the Foreign Service, dreams sometimes do come true.
During a temporary assignment in Peru in late 1985-early 1986, I met a number of radio personalities who heard some of my songs and asked me to write one specifically for a charitable organization concerned with the welfare of children in that country. I promptly sat down to write the words and music to a song that I called “Somos Peru” (We are Peru) that caught the imagination of the producer involved. The production company offered to underwrite the costs of arranging and producing the song, and Ambassador Keith Bezanson kindly offered to subsidize the cost of donating 2000 records to the charity that we had selected (Clinica San Juan de Dios, a system of hospitals operating in many Latin countries (as well as in Montreal-Hôpital St-Jean de Dieu) that underwrites the cost of major corrective surgery for children from families who would otherwise not be able to obtain such medical services).
Within days of contacting the organizers of the National Telethon for handicapped children (the Peruvian version of Jerry Lewis’ telethon that is broadcast in the U.S.A. and in Canada) I was invited to sing the song live on their special television broadcast on January 31, 1986. As well, arrangements were made for the video of the song to be aired on Lima’s video rock channel on a daily basis as well as on music and video programmes on other channels. There I found myself in the company of Julio Iglesias and other well-known Latin artists (since the song is in Spanish). I understand that the video continues to be broadcast regularly in Lima and, during my travels through Central America and Europe, I have been surprised at the fact that travelling Peruvians have and continue to recognize me as “el diplomatico cantante” (the singing diplomat).
When I arrived in Guatemala it did not take too long for word of my Peruvian adventure to make the rounds (I am not a believer in false modesty) and soon the Aldeas Infantiles S.O.S. requested that I write a song for their use. This organization is affiliated with the S.O.S. Kinderhoffer, headquartered in Vienna but operating in most countries around the world through local affiliates such as the one in question. Once again, I did my thing and wrote the song “Poco a Poco” (Little by Little) that was produced with the strong moral and financial backing of Ambassador Potvin and Pierre Giroux, our Aid and Development officer at the post. An accompanying video was also produced and has been frequently televised on major music and video shows in Guatemala. In addition, I was invited to sing this song live on the Guatemalan Telethon in December of 1986, making it the second time in one year that a Canadian artist sang in a national telethon in a Latin American country. The song and the master recording are available for other Posts in the area to use should they decide to support the local Aldeas Infantiles S.O.S. organization in their country or countries of accreditation. Thus far, however, we have not had any feedback from colleagues at other posts.
While it is gratifying for an artist to achieve a certain level of recognition, fame, and appreciation for his or her talent from the general public, it is all the more gratifying to feel that one can make a difference in spite of the odds. Perhaps the most poignant moment of my artistic career was the moment that a very young girl came up to me at the Teatro Leguia in Lima immediately after my performance on the Peruvian Telethon, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and thanked me for the present I had made to Peruvian children. At that moment I realized that the Foreign Service lifestyle had not only allowed me to accomplish what had hitherto been an improbable personal dream, but that I and my colleagues at the Embassy had somehow brought diplomacy up to the level of comprehension of a young child. This gesture was and continues to be far more important to me than all of the accolades that I may have received in Peru or in Guatemala with respect to my musical/benevolent activities because it was and continues to be living proof to me that “We are the World”..
Poco a Poco (Little by Little)
Words and Music by Eduardo F. Del Buey
English Translation
Little by little and step by step fill the world with your love
Step by step and little by little open your heart like a flower
Look at a child’s face who only asks for your affection and
That you give him a chance to live
Little by little and step by step we’ll change his destiny
All that is needed is that you don’t stop feeling.
Little by little and step by step show him a way
That will take him to a brand new dawn
Give a child your hand with tenderness and love
And that child will be reborn.
Be his morning sun and his sweet afternoon breeze
Be the cause of his laughter and his source of love and pleasure
Be the staff on which he leans and his strength to develop
So that he himself can plant his roots
Give him all that you can, strong wind for his sails
This child is the future of the nation.
Take a good look at his face how his smile changes when you give him
your tenderness and love
Take a good look at his eyes how his look changes also when he leaves
behind his pain
Little by little and step by step we will change these lives, you will see
You’ll be able to touch their souls, they will finally achieve their inner peace
That peace and hope will not remain in the distance
They will finally be able to feel them
Little by little and step by step we will build for them a future
We’ll ensure that they survive.
Little by little and step by step fill this sad world with your love
Step by step and little by little open your heart like a flower
Little by little and step by step step by step and little by little give your love.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 5, No. 3 (1987) — Fall 1987 // Automne 1987, pp. 44–45. Read the rest of this issue →
