{"id":22004,"date":"2023-03-13T13:03:03","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T19:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/?p=22004"},"modified":"2023-05-21T17:23:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-21T23:23:33","slug":"from-in-the-belly-of-night-and-other-poems-translated-by-wendy-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/2023\/03\/from-in-the-belly-of-night-and-other-poems-translated-by-wendy-call\/","title":{"rendered":"From In the Belly of Night and Other Poems, translated by Wendy Call"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>An Excerpt from \u201cInto and Through the Belly of Night: A Translator\u2019s Note\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By this century\u2019s end, more than half of the languages currently spoken on our planet will fall silent. I remember distinctly the moment I first learned of that prognosis. Rain drummed the sheet-metal roof of my cinderblock house in rural Mexico, nine hundred miles south of Houston, Texas, in a region called the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The century had just dawned. I had been living in the southern state of Oaxaca for a year, delighting in the rich tones of the languages that surrounded me: Chinantec, Chontal, Mixe, Ombeayi\u00fcts, Zoque, and Isthmus Zapotec. Until that moment, late in 2001, I had no idea how imperiled their existence was. Now, nearly two decades later, it is even more perilous: the world of 2100 might know only <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one-tenth<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the languages spoken today. One in ten. Our collective human ability to convey emotion and experience, name our worlds, and locate ourselves in the universe might be decimated, with the deaths of the languages containing that knowledge. Imagine: the vast majority of the world\u2019s cosmologies, literatures, and history: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gone<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, I thought, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this can\u2019t be<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I began reading all the indigenous Mexican literature I could find, discovering that within one hundred miles of my cinderblock house, writers were publishing stories and poetry in at least ten languages\u2014ten distinct literary traditions. Knowing nothing of Mexican languages beyond a few words for greetings and foods, I relied on bilingual writers who rendered their work in Spanish, as well as their home languages. Eventually, I dared to translate some of that literature into English\u2014yes, the lingua franca whose rise correlates directly to global language extinction. Unavoidable irony aside, I translate filled with gratitude that these literatures exist in our world, and filled with hope that a wider audience might enjoy my English-language versions of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Irma Pineda writes in Isthmus Zapotec, a collection of variant dialects that is itself part of the much larger Zapotec language family. Nearly half a million people in the state of Oaxaca\u2014and many thousands who have immigrated to Mexico City, Los Angeles, and elsewhere\u2014are Zapotec speakers. \u201cIsthmus Zapotec\u201d includes languages that are as different as Catal\u00e1n and Spanish. What we call \u201cZapotec\u201d contains more than sixty distinct languages\u2014as wide-ranging as the entire family of Romance languages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I didn\u2019t encounter Irma Pineda\u2019s poetry while I was living in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, only forty miles north of her hometown of Juchit\u00e1n, Oaxaca. Instead, I read her poems for the first time in a Mexico City literary journal in 2005\u2014the year that she published her first book of poetry. That book,<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ndaani\u2019 Gueela\u2019 \/ En el Vientre de la Noche<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, gives this trilingual anthology its title: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the Belly of Night<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Irma Pineda was born in Juchit\u00e1n in 1974, the older of two children. Her parents were teachers and Indigenous rights activists. In 1982, Juchit\u00e1n became the first city in all of Mexico to elect an opposition party to municipal government, after more than a half a century of single-party rule in Mexico. That historic election was the result of a social movement in Juchit\u00e1n that was brutally repressed by the federal government. That repression cost Irma Pineda\u2019s father, Victor \u201cYodo\u201d Pineda, his life. She was four years old when her father was disappeared. Throughout Pineda\u2019s life, her mother, C\u00e1ndida Santiago Pineda, has continued her activism. Like her mother, Pineda and her brother are both educators who engage deeply with their communities. Pineda moved to central Mexico in 1988 to attend high school and then university. She earned an undergraduate degree in communications. She later worked as a journalist and legislative aide in Mexico City, for the federal senator from Juchit\u00e1n. Pineda returned to her home city in 2004, the year before her first book of poetry was published. She completed master\u2019s studies in multicultural education. She is a long-time faculty member at the Universidad Pedag\u00f3gica Nacional (National Teachers\u2019 University) in Ixtepec, not far from Juchit\u00e1n. Currently, Pineda works as a senior policy advisor in the Mexican federal congress and serves as one of two representatives of Latin American indigenous peoples in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pineda has always been immersed in the work of language, or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">guunda<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014a Zapotec word that means to sing, to read, or to study. Since <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ndaani\u2019 Gueela\u2019 \/ En el Vientre de la Noche<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> appeared in 2005, she has published nine more books of poetry, one translated collection (by an early 20<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> century poet who worked only in Isthmus Zapotec), and an anthology for children.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wendy Call<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Four Trilingual Poems from <\/b><b><i>In the Belly of Night and Other Poems \/ En el vientre de la noche y otros poemas \/ Ndaani\u2019 Gueela\u2019 ne xhupa diidxaguie\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>I Was Given This Day<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was given this day<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with songs of silent birds<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with the smell of wet earth in the balconies\u2019 flowerpots<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with an iguana drawn on my son\u2019s shirt<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with sweet words of zapoteco<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pulled from my sister\u2019s tongue<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was given this day<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with the hummingbird\u2019s absence from my window<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">without cool earth \u00a0 nor stars\u00a0 nor jazm\u00edn del istmo<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">without armadillos, whose bones we spurn<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">without my grandfather\u2019s stories embroidered<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on the wide skirt of the afternoon<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was given this day<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the heart of the city.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Me lleg\u00f3 este d\u00eda\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Me lleg\u00f3 este d\u00eda<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">con cantos de aves silenciosas<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">con olor a tierra mojada en las macetas de los balcones<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">con una iguana dibujada en la playera de mi hijo<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">con la dulce palabra diidxaz\u00e1<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">arrancada de la lengua de mi hermana\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Me lleg\u00f3 este d\u00eda<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">con la ausencia del colibr\u00ed en mi ventana<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sin tierra fresca \u00a0 ni estrellas\u00a0 \u00a0 ni guie\u2019 xhuuba\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sin armadillos para despreciar sus huesos<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sin historias de mi abuelo dibujadas<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">en la enagua de la tarde\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Me lleg\u00f3 este d\u00eda<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">en el coraz\u00f3n de la ciudad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Bedand\u00e1 dxi di\u2019 naa\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bedand\u00e1 dxi di\u2019 naa<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ne riuunda\u2019 manihuiini\u2019 bisig\u00e1nicabe laa<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ne xho\u2019 yu dxe\u2019 ndaani\u2019 guisu guiiba\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ne ti guchachi\u2019 die\u2019 lu xhaba xhii\u00f1e<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ne diidxa\u2019 naxhi diidxaz\u00e1<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ni biaxha lu ludxi benda\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bedand\u00e1 dxi di\u2019 naa<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cadi suhuaa biul\u00fa ruaa guiru biaani\u2019 lidxe\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gasti\u2019 yu ga\u2019nda\u2019 \u00a0 gasti\u2019 belegu\u00ed \u00a0 gasti\u2019 guie\u2019xhuuba\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qui guini ti ngupi ni guiree l\u00e1 dxita ladi<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gasti\u2019 xtiidxa\u2019 bixhozegola\u2019 nidiee<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lu suudi huadxi\u2019 di\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bedand\u00e1 dxi di\u2019 naa<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ndaani\u2019 ladxid\u00f3\u2019 ti guidxi zitu\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Guest<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Sebasti\u00e1n, when he bloomed in my heart<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The galloping of horses<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is your heart\u2019s flight in my belly,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">traveler coming down the path,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I save a shard of moonbeam to give you<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and a large shell with the sea inside.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My hands weave a frangipani garland<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to thread my heart on and place around your neck<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">like our people place around the necks<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of our town\u2019s important guests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before you arrive, I\u2019ll tuck heads of garlic<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">into doorways and windows, to scare away the nagual<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">who would drink your new blood.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ll look for an earthen pot<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whose belly will guard your lifeline<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and I\u2019ll bury it under a large shade tree<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">so you will never forget the land<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that holds your soul<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">so that no demon will torment you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t forget<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the power of our blood<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">because we come from the clouds<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the tigers, trees, and boulders are our parents.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You will be blessed on this earth,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">traveler who has not yet arrived!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>El hu\u00e9sped<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Sebasti\u00e1n, cuando floreci\u00f3 en mi coraz\u00f3n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Un galopar de caballos<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">es el vuelo de tu coraz\u00f3n en mi vientre,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">viajero que vienes en el camino,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">guardo un rayito de luna para darte<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">y un caracol grande en donde habita la mar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mis manos tejen un collar de cacalox\u00fachitl<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">para ensartar mi coraz\u00f3n y colgarlo de tu cuello<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">como nuestra gente cuelga al cuello de los importantes<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">que visitan nuestro pueblo.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mientras llegas, colocar\u00e9 cabezas de ajo<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">en puertas y ventanas, para espantar al nagual<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">que quiera beber tu sangre nueva.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buscar\u00e9 una olla de barro<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cuyo vientre guardar\u00e1 la casa de tu ombligo<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">y la enterraremos bajo un \u00e1rbol grande y fresco<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">para que nunca olvides a la tierra<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">que guarda el alma de tu ser<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">y no haya demonio que la moleste.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tampoco olvides<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">la fuerza de tu sangre<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">porque de las nubes venimos<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">los tigres, \u00e1rboles y pe\u00f1ascos son nuestros padres<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bendito ser\u00e1s sobre esta tierra<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">viajero que a\u00fan no llegas!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Biuuza\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ni bisiga\u2019de\u2019 Sebasti\u00e1n dxi biele\u2019 ndaani\u2019 ladxidua\u2019<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rului\u2019 cuxoo\u00f1e\u2019 mani\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ora ripapa ladxido\u2019lo\u2019 ndaane\u2019,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">biuuza\u2019 zeedu neza,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cay\u00e1pa\u2019 ti biaanihuiini\u2019 beeu\u2019 gusiga\u2019de\u2019 lii<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ne ti bichu\u2019 naro\u2019ba\u2019 ra ga\u2019chi\u2019 nisad\u00f3\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Naya\u2019 cuz\u00e1\u2019 ti big\u00e1\u2019 guie\u2019 chaachi\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ra ganda ladxidua\u2019 ne chu\u2019 yannilu\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sica rugaanda binni yoo yanni binni risaca<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rig\u00e1nna laanu.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Laga gueedandou\u2019 chi ugaanda\u2019 ique aju<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rua yoo ne guiiru biaani\u2019, ti guchibi bidxaa<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gacaladxi\u2019 gueda gu\u00e9\u2019 rini cubi.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zuyube ti pumpu yu<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ndaani\u2019 guiapa doo yoo ne xquipilu\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ne guca\u2019chinu laa xha\u2019na\u2019 ti yaga ro\u2019 naga\u2019nda<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ti qui chu\u2019 dxi gusiaandu lay\u00fa<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ni cayapa xquendalu\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ne qui chu\u2019 binnidxaba\u2019 guchii\u00f1a laa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zaqueca qui gusiaandu\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nadipa\u2019 rini bia\u2019neu\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ti binniz\u00e1 nga laanu,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">beedxe, yaga ne gui\u00e9 nga bixhozenu ne j\u00f1aanu<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a1nandx\u00f3 nga lii lu guidxilay\u00fa di\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">biuuza\u2019 ca\u2019ru\u2019 guedandalu\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>In the Belly of Night<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the belly of night I move<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I seek<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a wise sea turtle porter of one thousand years<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a sea turtle devourer of earth<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deep drinker of days<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">guardian of all nostalgia<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to heal this soul that pains me so<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to drink the tears these shadows pour on me<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to pour sunlight on this sadness of mine<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I seek<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a sea turtle who will give me<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">her sharpened teeth<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">her iron house<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">her gait stripped of rage and haste<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and her footprint of light on the earth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>En el vientre de la noche<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">En el vientre de la noche avanzo<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">busco<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">una tortuga sabia cargadora de mil a\u00f1os<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">una tortuga comedora de tierra<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bebedora profunda de los d\u00edas<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">curadora de nostalgias<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">para sanar un alma que me duele tanto<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">para beber las l\u00e1grimas que me derraman las sombras<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">para asolear esta tristeza m\u00eda\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Busco<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">una tortuga que me regale<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sus afilados dientes<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">su casa de hierro<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">su andar despojado de ira y prisa<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">y su huella de luz sobre la tierra.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Ndaani\u2019 gueela\u2019\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ndaani\u2019 gueela\u2019 canazaya\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cuyube\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ti bigu\u2019 nuu xpiaani\u2019 nua\u2019 stale iza<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ti bigu ni ro yu<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ni re\u2019 diti dxi<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ni rusianda xilase<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ti gusianda ladxidua\u2019 nab\u00e9 nan\u00e1<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ti gu\u00e9 nisa ruuna band\u00e1\u2019 luguiaya\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ti cu\u00e9 lu gubidxa yuuba\u2019 xtine\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cuyube\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ti bigu gusiga\u2019de\u2019 naa<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">laya naduxhu\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lidxi guiiba\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">xquendariz\u00e1 dxi<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ne xtuuba biaani&#8217; ndaani\u2019 guidxilay\u00fa di\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>I Embrace Your Naked Coolness<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I embrace your naked coolness<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dress your body\u2019s stiffness<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">prepare your forever bed<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">your suitcase:<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I pack a gourd so you won\u2019t forget<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to drink pozol wherever you go.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I pack your new sandals<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">since they say the path is long<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the river is wide<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the landscape only half lit.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I put in your beautiful<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dress clothes<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">your flower-embroidered huipil<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">your pleated lace skirt<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">because the angel of death<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">might ask you for a dance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Abrazo tu fr\u00eda desnudez<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Abrazo tu fr\u00eda desnudez<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">arropo la rigidez de tu cuerpo<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">preparo tu cama eternal<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tu equipaje:<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pongo una j\u00edcara para que no olvides<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">beber pozol por donde vayas.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pongo tus huaraches nuevos<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pues dicen que es largo el camino<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">que es ancho el r\u00edo<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">de penumbra es el paisaje.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pongo tu ropa hermosa,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">la de fiesta<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tu huipil bordado de flores<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tu enagua de ol\u00e1n<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">no sea que la muerte<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quiera contigo bailar un son.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Caguiidxe\u2019 xieladilu\u2019 naga\u2019nda\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Caguiidxe\u2019 xieladilu\u2019 naga\u2019nda\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rucuaque\u2019 lari ladichongalu\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cabaquechahue\u2019 ra gatalu\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ni chine\u00fa\u2019:<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cuguaa ti xiga ti qui gusiaandu\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">guelu\u2019 cuba neza zeu\u2019.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cuguaa xquelaguidilu\u2019 nacubi<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ti n\u00e1cabe xhirooba neza ca<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nal\u00e1ga guiigu\u2019<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nacahuid\u00f3\u2019 nga chec\u00e1.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cuguaa xhabalu\u2019 ni jma\u2019 sicar\u00fa,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lari saa,<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">xtaanilu\u2019 di\u2019ba\u2019 guie\u2019 lu<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ne bisuudi\u2019 ol\u00e1n<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cadi mala si n\u00e1 guendaguti<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">guyaa ne lii ti son yaa.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: right;\"><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poems in Spanish and Isthmus Zapotec by Irma Pineda<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">English translations and excerpt from Translator\u2019s Note by Wendy Call<\/span><\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The English translations of these poems originally appeared in these U.S. literary journals: \u201cI Embrace Your Naked Coolness\u201d in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Cincinnati Review<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (University of Cincinnati, Winter 2015); \u201cI Was Given This Day\u201d and \u201cIn the Belly of Night\u201d in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sow\u2019s Ear Poetry Review <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Virginia, Fall 2012); and \u201cGuest\u201d in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eleven-Eleven<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (California College of the Arts, San Francisco, Winter 2013). Both poet and translator are grateful to them for early support of this work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the Belly of Night and Other Poems <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">was published in trilingual edition in August 2022 by Mexico City\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/herder.com.mx\/es\/editoriales-publishers\/pluralia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pluralia Ediciones<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/h6>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Excerpt from \u201cInto and Through the Belly of Night: A Translator\u2019s Note\u201d By this century\u2019s end, more than half of the languages currently spoken on our planet will fall silent. I remember distinctly the moment I first learned of that prognosis. Rain drummed the sheet-metal roof of my cinderblock house in rural Mexico, nine [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":21954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2893],"tags":[4411],"genre":[],"pretext":[],"section":[],"translator":[3792],"lal_author":[4377],"class_list":["post-22004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adelantos-de-traduccion-y-novedades-editoriales","tag-numero-25-es","translator-wendy-call-es","lal_author-irma-pineda-es"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22004"},{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genre?post=22004"},{"taxonomy":"pretext","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pretext?post=22004"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=22004"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/translator?post=22004"},{"taxonomy":"lal_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinamericanliteraturetoday.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lal_author?post=22004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}