El Apellido Nicolas Guillen English Translation __link__ <OFFICIAL · 2025>

¿Mi apellido? Me lo dieron los españoles. (Ellos fueron los primeros que me lo dieron.) Pero yo no se lo pido a nadie, ni se lo quiero a nadie. Mi apellido es mío, mío, mío; pero no me lo dieron mis abuelos sino los conquistadores. Lo tengo como quien tiene una cicatriz. Y si alguien me pregunta por mi apellido, yo le digo: —Tengo un apellido, pero no sé de dónde viene. ¿Será de algún negro de mi sangre? ¿Será de algún congo, algún bantú? No sé. Yo solo sé que me apellido ahora como los que me robaron la patria. ¿Mi apellido? ¿Mi verdadero apellido? ¿Aquél que me quitó el amo junto con la cadena y el látigo? Lo perdí. Lo perdí como se pierde un anillo en el mar. Lo perdí como se pierde la voz. Lo perdí como se pierde la tierra. Lo perdí. ¡Ay, mi apellido perdido, mi apellido robado por el verdugo, mi apellido! ¿Volverá? ¿Volverá un día? ¿Volverá de la raíz de los árboles caídos? ¿Volverá de la entraña de los minerales? ¿Volverá del fondo de los ríos? ¿Volverá de la noche? ¿Volverá del silencio? ¿Volverá de la nada? ¿Volverá de este mismo odio que me late y que me quema las entrañas? ¡Ay, mi apellido! ¡Mi apellido!

"El Apellido" by Nicolás Guillén: English Translation, Context, and Analysis

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: While acknowledging his Spanish roots, he highlights the "silenced" African half of his heritage. 🌍 English Translation (Excerpt) el apellido nicolas guillen english translation

In the climax of the poem, Guillén explicitly rejects the completeness of his Spanish surname.

Below is an in-depth exploration of the poem's English translations, its core linguistic and cultural themes, and its enduring literary legacy. The Literal Translation and Structural Meaning

The final celebration of both sides of his heritage, embracing the complexity of being both Afro-Caribbean and Hispanic. 2. Analysis of Key Themes in "El Apellido" 2.1. The Conflict of the Surname ¿Mi apellido

This is the poem’s most famous image. A scar is permanent, ugly, and evidence of a wound. The English keeps the simile intact because it is culturally universal.

It started as Willahelm ( Wil = desire/will + Helm = helmet/protection). Old French: It became Guillaume after the Norman influence.

Despite the lament, "El Apellido" is not a poem of defeat. It is a poem of resistance. By writing the poem in the first place, Guillén reclaims his narrative. He refuses to be ashamed. He declares that although the African surname is lost to history, the African blood, the "baobab," and the African soul are alive within him. The poem ends not with the name, but with the voice—a bright, polished voice that speaks against the silence. This act of speaking is the ultimate reclamation of identity. Mi apellido es mío, mío, mío; pero no

: The poet questions his Spanish surname (Guillén), noting it was inherited from colonizers, not his biological ancestors.

This question is at the heart of the keyword, and the answer reveals why Guillén is a master. Any English translation of "El apellido" must navigate several profound and intertwined challenges:

The central conflict of "El Apellido" is the tension between the poet's legal identity (Nicolás Guillén) and his ancestral identity. The surname "Guillén" represents the Spanish colonial apparatus—the language, religion, and legal systems imposed upon enslaved Africans. By questioning his own papers and ink, the poet highlights how bureaucracy can formalize a lie, effectively erasing centuries of ancestral lineage. 2. The Metaphor of Water and the Sea

At its core, "El apellido" is a powerful . The poem masterfully portrays the psychological fracture inflicted by colonialism, where a Spanish surname—"las trece letras" (the thirteen letters)—is imposed over a forgotten African past. Guillén's speaker confronts the reader with a series of rhetorical questions that are both defiant and vulnerable, asking: "¿Toda mi piel... viene de aquella estatua de mármol español? ¿También mi voz de espanto, el duro grito de mi garganta?" (Does all my skin... come from that Spanish marble statue? My terrifying voice, the harsh cry of my throat, as well?).