Santa Barbara…

This song is simple, old school and fun to sing. I guess since our group is in Santa Barbara, it always makes this song a little extra fun to sing. But what are the words exactly, what does it mean, and where does it come from?

SANTA BARBARA:

O Santa Barbara que relampuê, O Santa Barbara que relampuá (lider)

O Santa Barbara que relampuê (coro)

Que relampuê, que relampuá (lider)

O Santa Barbara que relampuê (coro)

Well what does it mean?
Roughly translated it means- ‘Santa Barbara will make lightning’ or ‘Santa Barbara brings lightning’.

Why would people sing that?
If you ask 50 people you will probably get 50 different answers, so take this explanation with a grain of salt, but Santa Barbara was syncretized with the Orixa Iansá from Candomblé tradition, who is closely associated with dance, wind, lightning and change. Also, according to the Soul Capoeira Blog it is said that African people would sing and pray to ask Iansá to send lighting to fertilize the earth.

Obviously this isn’t the most in depth explanation ever, but hopefully it gives a little more background and context for the next time you sing this song.

Iansá