The lyrics of the song are written in the first person. The first verse of the song makes a statement about the freedom of African slaves and their descendants in Cuba: "Yo soy carabalí, negro de nación; sin la libertad, no puedo vivir" ("I am carabalí, black of nation; without freedom, I can't live"). The term "carabalí" refers to a Cuban ethnic group comprising descendants of inhabitants of the Calabar region in Nigeria. "Negro de nación" was a common term in Cuba to refer to black slaves.
