The English translation of "El Apellido" bridges the gap between the Afro-Cuban experience and the broader African Diaspora, particularly in English-speaking nations like the United States, Jamaica, and the United Kingdom.
El apellido is a companion poem to others in the Tengo collection, such as Tengo (I Have), where Guillén lists post-Revolution gains (a job, a school, a vote). But El apellido reminds us that even after revolution, some losses cannot be restored.
My last name? The Spaniards gave it to me. (They were the first ones to give it to me.) But I don’t ask it of anyone, nor do I owe it to anyone. My last name is mine, mine, mine; but my grandparents did not give it to me — only the conquerors did. I carry it like someone carries a scar. And if anyone asks me for my last name, I tell them: — I have a last name, but I don’t know where it comes from. Could it be from some Black man of my blood? Could it be from some Congo, some Bantu? I don’t know. I only know that I am now named like those who stole my homeland from me. My last name? My true last name? The one the master took from me along with the chain and the whip? I lost it. I lost it like a ring lost in the sea. I lost it like a voice is lost. I lost it like the land is lost. I lost it. Oh, my lost last name, my last name stolen by the executioner, my last name! Will it return? Will it return one day? Will it return from the root of fallen trees? Will it return from the entrails of minerals? Will it return from the depths of rivers? Will it return from the night? Will it return from silence? Will it return from nothingness? Will it return from this very hatred that beats inside me and burns my guts? Oh, my last name! My last name! el apellido nicolas guillen english translation
It is a journey toward accepting a complex, hybrid identity.
Nicolás Guillén (1902–1989) is widely regarded as Cuba's national poet and one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th-century Caribbean. His work, deeply rooted in the Afro-Cuban experience, skillfully blends European poetic forms with African rhythms, folklore, and vernacular speech, a concept often referred to as poesía mulata (mulatto poetry). The English translation of "El Apellido" bridges the
Surname? What is my surname? Ask the black slave who lived on the large plantation. Ask the iron collar, the branding iron, the whip, the ship’s hold. Ask the dog that doesn’t speak, but bites. And my surname? My surname?
This noun means "the surname" or "the last name." My last name
In other languages, this name appears as Guillem (Catalan), Guillaume (French), and Guilherme (Portuguese). The Legacy of Nicolás Guillén Guillen Family History - Ancestry.com
Through its English translations, the poem continues to serve as a universal anthem for anyone seeking to reclaim an identity fractured by history, migration, and colonization. If you want to explore further,