New York, October 10 (EFE).- The Cervantes Institute in New York presented this Thursday a translation into 27 native Mexican languages of ‘Grito to Roma’, one of the poems written by Federico García Lorca while he lives in the Big Apple and which, because of his vindictive nature, fits very well in the current context.
The idea of translating this poem, written by the Granada-born author from the Chrysler Building – one of the most recognizable skyscrapers in New York – came from Luis García Montero, director of the Cervantes Institute, who chose 27 translators to do it. this work in which the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) also participated.
Two of the writers involved in the translation of this poem were present at today’s event: Natalia Toledo, who read the piece to the public in Zapotec – a language spoken mostly in town -great Oaxaca – and Margarita León, who recited Lorca’s words in the Otomi language.
García Montero was also present at the exhibition and gave voice to Lorca’s words in Spanish, but not before emphasizing that these can easily be extrapolated to the current context, highlighted by war conflicts just like when they were written, a few years before the Spanish Civil War. and the Second World War.
“It seems to me very important, in today’s world, where the protagonists are wars, where science and technology are controlled by the market and not at the service of human dignity and where if dehumanization is rampant, this poem is translated to protect human connections and democratic rights,” he said.
The writer also emphasized the union between Latin America and Spain not only through language but also through “respect for diversity”.
For her part, the Mexican writer Socorro Venegas, editorial director of the UNAM, said poetry is “the best bridge” between Mexico and Spain and a way to protect linguistic diversity “in the full sense”.
The story behind ‘Cry to Rome’
Luis García Montero, who is also originally from Granada, said today that Federico García Lorca moved to New York, among other reasons, because he had a romantic relationship with another man “that was starting to become abusive.” Madrid,” which led his family to advise him to temporarily leave the Spanish capital.
It is this decision that would later lead Lorca to write ‘Poet in New York’, one of his best known works, in which he explores the structural problems and the most disappointing aspects of the city, such as racism or the individualism of its inhabitants. population
In particular, ‘Cry to Rome’ is a protest against the authoritarianism born from the moment the Pope of that time, Pius XI, signed a cooperation agreement with the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
“The unconverted identity of the Catholic Church had an effect on Lorca, because the Christian faith could live in the name of that Jesus who sacrificed himself for love, or as a possible Catholic tool has made a pact with fascism to protect authoritarian dynamics. the first decades of the 20th century,” said García Montero.
The Cervantes event took place within the framework of the International Book Fair that is held in New York until October 12 and promotes literature written in Spanish; In particular, the tribute to Lorca continued today in the evening to remember a ‘poet in New York’.
Alicia Sanchez Gomez
(c) EFE Group
2024-10-11 02:01:00
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