El Apellido Nicolas Guillen English Translation

Here’s a write-up for an English translation of “El apellido” by Nicolás Guillén:

: The poem is available in anthologies like My Last Name / El Apellido , translated by Roberto Márquez. el apellido nicolas guillen english translation

Because Guillén’s poetry often relies on Afro-Cuban vernacular and the musicality of the Spanish language, translations can sometimes diminish these rhythmic elements. Here’s a write-up for an English translation of

And the answer is not in any archive. It is in the blood. In the rhythm. In the skin. In the joy that bursts out in spite of everything. In the son, in the rumba, in the conga that rises like a shout: It is in the blood

Guillén once wrote: "El negro en Cuba… tiene un apellido español. Eso es violento. Esa es una herida abierta." ("The Black person in Cuba… has a Spanish last name. That is violent. That is an open wound.") This poem is the suturing of that wound through language.