El Apellido Nicolas Guillen English Translation -

Before diving into the English translation of "El apellido," we must understand the poet. Nicolás Guillén (1902–1989) was born in Camagüey, Cuba, a nation with a massive population of African descent. Despite Cuba’s mixed-race identity, systemic racism pushed Black Cubans to the margins.

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. el apellido nicolas guillen english translation

The poem’s central conflict: Guillén knows his Spanish surname (given to his ancestors by colonizers), but he does not know his true African surname. This absence becomes a symbol of cultural genocide. Before diving into the English translation of "El

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. Not knowing his African surname means not knowing

The poem treats the loss of a surname as a violent act. The speaker repeats "que me lo roben" (that they rob me of it) as a desperate protest. He compares the name to physical objects stolen off his body: a handkerchief, a ring, a piece of clothing. This personalization makes the historical crime of slavery feel immediate and intimate.