NICOLÁS GUILLÉN (Camagüey, July 10 1902 - Havana, July 16 1989)
Angustia Cuarta
Federico
Toco a la puerta de un romance.
-No anda por aquí Federico?
Un papagayo me contesta:
-Ha salido.
Toco a una puerta de cristal.
-No anda por aquí Federico?
Viene una mano y me señala:
-Está en el río.
Toco la puerta de un gitano.
-No anda por aquí Federico?
Nadie responde. No habla nadie…
-Federico! Federico!
La casa oscura, vacía;
negro musgo en las paredes;
brocal de pozo sin cubo,
jardín de lagartos verdes.
Sobre la tierra mullida
caracoles que se mueven,
y el rojo viento de julio
entre las ruinas, meciéndose.
Federico!
Dónde el gitano se mueve?
Dónde sus ojos se enfrían?
Dónde estará, que no viene!
Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista was a Cuban poet. Guillén became acknowledge by many critics as the most influential of those Latin American poets who dealt with African themes and re-created African song and dance rhythms in literary form. Guillen made an international mark for himself with the publication of Motivos deson. The work was inspired by the living conditions of Afro-Cubans and the popular "Son" music. The publication consisted of eight short poems that were composed using the everyday language of the Afro Cubans. The collection stood out in the literary world because it emphasized and established the importance of Afro-Cuban culture as a valid genre in Cuban literature