El Apellido Nicolas Guillen English Translation __link__ -

Guillén’s genius was in blending European poetic forms (like the sonnet) with African rhythms and vernacular speech. "El apellido" belongs to his 1964 collection Tengo ("I Have"), a book written after the Cuban Revolution. In this poem, Guillén tackles a deeply personal yet collective wound: the loss of African ancestry through the brutal erasure of slavery.

Not knowing his African surname means not knowing his lineage, his tribe, his history. The poem is an elegy for a specific loss but also a metaphor for the destruction of African family structures under slavery. el apellido nicolas guillen english translation

Nicolás Guillén was born on July 10, 1902, in Yaguajay, Cuba. He began his literary career in the 1920s, publishing his first poems in various Cuban magazines and journals. Guillén's poetry is characterized by its exploration of Afro-Cuban culture, social justice, and the struggle against racism. Guillén’s genius was in blending European poetic forms