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The poem Navidad Palermitana by the Afro-Uruguayan poet Virginia Brindis de Salas.
Navidad Palermitana | Palermo's Christmas |
Cielo con muchas estrellas Y luna blanca y redonda. Qué linda que fué en Palermo La noche de Navidad. Enfarolada de cañas* Y de vinachos* guerreros La negrada entusiasmada Hacía repicar los cueros. Candombe* de Navidad, Candombe de sol caliente, Reminiscencia africana Que reviven los morenos En nuestra fiesta cristiana. Recinto de los esclavos Del viejo Montevideo, En donde por vez primera Repicó mi tamboril. Con mi candombe te evoco, Con mi candombe te canto Porque hoy los negros son libres En esta tierra Oriental* | The sky had so many stars And the full white moon. So beautiful was in Palermo That Christmas night. I'm wasted with cañas And the warriors with vinachos Black people were excited Making the leather resonate Candombe this Christmas, Candombe in the hot sun, African reminiscence Revive all the browns On our Christian feast. The yard from slaves At the old Montevideo. There, for the first time, My drums echoed. With my candombe, I evoke you With my candombe, I sing to you Because today black people are free In this Eastern land. |
from: Cien Cárceles de Amor, 1949
*cañas - Alcoholic drinks made of sugarcane
**vinachos - Wine, alcoholic drinks made of grapes
***Candombe - A style of music and dance that originated in Uruguay with atabaques (drums) among the descendants of African origin.
****Tierra Oriental - Uruguay is called as a Eastern land because it is located at the east side of Prata River
English translation based on the original and the Portuguese translation by Anelise Freitas, Ma Njanu and Marcela Batista. Accessed at: https://escamandro.wordpress.com/2020/05/26/virginia-brindis-de-salas-por-anelise-freitas-ma-njanu-e-marcela-batista/ November 2023.
About The Poet
Virginia Brindis (1908-1958) was an Afro-Uruguayan poet born in Montevideo. One of the first black authors to be published in Uruguay, her work was overlooked and full of controversies due to her humble origins and her race. An activist in the black movement, she actively participated in the intellectual and political life of Uruguay. Her two main works are "Pregón de Marimorena" (1946) and "Cien cárceles de amor" (1949).
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