Os voy a dar una traducción casi literal al inglés, y con su ayuda y este fragmento de la película “El lado oscuro del corazón”, intentad completar el poema original en español. Así que he decidido proponeros un ejercicio bastante sencillo, usando el poema del increíble Mario Benedetti. Lo encuentro algo absurdo, sobre todo en el caso de la felicidad, pero como me encanta la poesía, lo estoy celebrando leyendo a algunos de mis poetas favoritos, y viendo una peli fabulosa. This is the sign of a master in command of his craft.Hoy es el Día Internacional de la Poesía, de la misma forma que ayer fue el Día Internacional de la Felicidad, y mañana será el día internacional de quién sabe qué… La necesidad humana de etiquetar y clasificar, ya sabéis. Nevertheless, when the poet takes something mundane and turns it into something deep and sublime that resonates decades later, he is worth emulating regardless of political leanings.Īctually, I dare anyone to read “ Hombre preso mirando su hijo” and not weep with emotion and embarrassment. However, leftist ramblings alone do not make good poetry. It is not after the return of democracy in 1983 that he returns home.Ĭoincidentally, it is those years he lived in exile where his poetry turns more political, giving us masterpieces like “ Hombre que mira su país desde el exilio“ “ Hombre preso que mira su hijo“ “ Un Padrenuestro Latinoamericano“ and “ El sur tambien existe“. Thus, he lived in Buenos Aires, Lima, Habana, Madrid, and other cities. Although he lived most of his life in Montevideo, after the 1973 military coup, he had to leave. Benedetti’s Work and Styleīenedetti lived through some of the most turbulent times of the twentieth century, times of coup d’états, revolts, and war. A poem meant to shock, amaze, and contemplate. Nonetheless, that is exactly what Un Padrenuestro Latinoamericano(A Latin American Our Father) is. It takes guts to rewrite the world’s most famous prayer, Our Father, the one Jesus himself taught the apostles in the Bible, and create a poem demanding peace, social justice, and freedom. Those people who fight for a better nation and a fair society. Benedetti courted censorship and was outspoken in his own subversive way. They are missing out on some beautiful prose and thought-provoking verses. Sadly, he is not well-known in the English-speaking world. Since February is unofficially the month of love, and since love and poetry go hand in hand, I would love to introduce you readers to this Latin American gem of a poet you should be reading.Īs a matter of fact, I consider Benedetti a literary influence (granted, I write speculative poetry, but his poems are about universal themes and situations). Mario Benedetti and his beloved Hortensia Campanella, Wikicommons Corazón coraza (Heart Armor) – One of his most quoted love poem with the famous line “because you exist everywhere but exist better where I love you”.El sur también existe (The South Also Exist) – A poem that compares the sociopolitical realities and contrasts of the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.Un padrenuestro latinoamericano (A Latin American Our Father) – The Lord’s prayer adapted for the twentieth-century reality of oppression, corruption, religious hypocrisy, and dictatorship.How can he never win a Nobel? This poem alone, part of a series, speaks with the authority of the dispossessed and marginalized by those in power by an autocratic regime. Hombre preso que mira a su hijo (Incarcerated Man Staring at his Son) – Brutal.As we saw in my post about Laura Meneses, it is never easy to be the wife of a political revolutionary.
Viewed like that it takes in a deeper meaning. Did he dedicate it to his wife Luz López? She was his eternal muse after sixty years of marriage. A closer reading finds lots of political subtexts. At first glance, it seems like a love poem. Generations of couples have courted each other with its verses. Te quiero (I Love You) – Easily his most popular poem.Remember, in Spanish only the first word is capitalized unless there is a proper name in the title.
NOTE: Titles are in Spanish first, my English translation of the title in parenthesis. Youtube image These are my favorite, not necessarily his best.
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