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This is the poem Sin alardear de apellido by the Afrocolombian poet Maria Elcina Valencia Cordoba.
Sin Alardear de Apellido | | Not Bragging About Last Name |
A ésta tierra estoy llegando Sin alardear de apellido Porque es de un señor Valencia Que yo no hubiera escogido
Me hubiera gustado tanto Ser Mandinga o Lucumí Pero el esclavista quiso Que me apellidara así El bisabuelo’e mi abuelo Jamás lo pudo impedir Porque estaba prisionero Y no era libre en decidir
Qué bonito sonaría María Elcina Lucumí O María Elcina Mandinga O Mandinga Lucumí
Quién sería el tatarabuelo De mi abuelita Beatriz Ni siquiera pa´l recuerdo Ella lo pudo escribir El que se creía su dueño Abusando del poder Le colocó su apellido Como cosa de su haber
Ahora me encuentro gentes Muy parecidos a mí Y la diáspora me grita Es tu primo Lucumí. ¿Seré de Congo o de Angola De Burundi, o de Malí De Tanzania o Mozambique o de Costa de Marfil?
¿Seré Congo, seré Mina Seré Cangá o Cundumí Seré Kenyatta o Nekongo Bikila o Carabalí? Esculcaré mis raíces En esta historia sin fin. | | I am coming to this land Not bragging about last name Because it belongs to a Mr. Valencia That I would not have chosen I would've liked way more Being Mandingo or Lucumí But the slaver wanted To call me like this The great-grandfather of my grandfather Could never stop it Because he was a prisoner And he was not free to decide it How nice it would sound Maria Elcina Lucumí Or Maria Elcina Mandinga Or Mandinga Lucumí Who would be the great-great-grandfather From my grandmother Beatriz Not even as a keepsake She could write it (his name) The one who believed his owner Abusing power Placed his last name As a thing of his own Now I meet people Very similar to me And the diaspora yells at me It's your cousin Lucumí. Am I from Congo or Angola? From Burundi, or Mali From Tanzania or Mozambique or the Ivory Coast? Am I Congo, am I Mina am I Cangá or Cundumí Am I Kenyatta or Nekongo Bikila or Carabali? I will dig my roots In this endless story. |
Note: The English version available in this post is a loose translation from the original text.
About the Poet
María Elcina Valencia Córdoba (1963) is an Afro-Colombian teacher, singer, songwriter and poet. Dedicated to teaching the traditions of the Colombian Pacific, Elcina texts deal with themes such as family, love, traditions and the effort to rescue the cultural identity of the people of African descent, and the search for the claim of the rights of its people.
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