Voz de la Gente: Voice of the People; Spanish Poetry Reading 14 May 2022, organized by Progressive, Literary and Cultural Society

It's a successful day, when you meet people from various corners and understand their voice and understand what they say. It's a beautiful feeling when we share the same feelings from different corners of the world. This all we felt at the Spanish poetry reading event Voz de la Gente (Voice of the People) organized by Progressive, Literary and Cultural Society on its facebook page. We started the May month with Labor’s Day, a celebration of the recognition of the hard work of people. This event is a tribute to the Spanish and Latin American poets, who never stopped raising their voices for the common people and never overlooked their sufferings. The event was coordinated by Ms Manju Yadav, Spanish Coordinator of PLCS and hosted by Dr Shamenaz, the President and founder of PLCS. PLCS is grateful to all the poets for joining today’s poetry event and raising their voices. We need to raise our voices more loudly so it reaches to each and every human- those who are in the cities, in the towns, speak whatever languages, whatever they eat and however they like to dress.. and to the person living in the farthest corner of the world.

The event started with the Catalan-Spanish poet and writer who resides in the United Kingdom. He read two poems- a poem titled El Alfarero by the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, and second his own creation: Estimada Invisible (Invisible Lover). He stunned the audience with his explosive performances and interpretations in Catalan and Spanish.

The second poet and translator Pooja Anil (Spain/India) is an Indian poet, and writer living in Madrid, Spain for a long time. Firstly, :Pooja read the poem: Las Cárceles by Miguel Hernández, a famous Spanish poet and later she recited her own poem: Yo Soy una mujer muerta (I am a Dead Woman). She believes that the expression of emotions can be expressed through literary methods like poetry and art, and for her art and poetry are complementary to each other.

Next, Leonardo Useche, a Colombian poet recited his poems. Firstly, he read the poem: Resurrección de un pueblito by Arnaldo Jiménez, followed by his own creation: Cerro del inmigrante. Leonardo has seen the tragedies of common people in Venezuela and in his own country, and his poems reflect this pain and appeal to our senses.

After, Leonardo useche, Rudy Alfonzo Gomez Rivas, a teacher, writer, editor, cultural manager from Guatemala read the poems. First, he read: Poema de otro poeta by Jenny Álvarez (poet, Costa Rica) and later he read his own poem: Me sostengo. He is very actively involved in literary activities. He is the Founder and Organizer of the Aguacatan FIPA International Poetry Festival and Director of the Literary Revista Voces Convergentes and the editorial label CAFEINA EDITORS.
After Pooja, the second female poet present at the event, Antonia Russo read her poem: Aire Puro and also talked about it in few words. Antonia has her connections from Italy, the cultural center of the world but later on during the war times, her ancestors moved to Argentina and settled there. Antonia identifies herself with both the countries and feels indebted for contributing to her understanding of life. She also presented a poem titled: Los Amantes de mi Autoria by an Argentina poet, Bandolero Fernandez.

Another female poet, artist and painter Sindy Aguirre from Guatemala, presented her poems depicting the psychology of the human mind and its complications of thinking and pondering on multiple subjects at a time in her poem: Cabezas. Before that she read one poem by a modern Spanish poet Maria Vera, titled: Dormir o Crecer.

Following Sindy, Oscar Limache, a Peruvian educator, poet, translator and editor, presented his poems. He presented a poem titled: Los Pasos Lejanos by Cesar Vallejo, a famous Spanish poet and his own poems titled: Pretest prar Poner los Pies en la Tierra. His poems are cries of the human kind for a better future for all. He is the founder and director of the Tabatinga Literary Translation Project .

Next, Obed Enai Tello, a young poet from Guatemala presented a poem: La Calle by Octavio Paz and later his own poem: Cristal and Vida. His poems reflect the problems of daily life that people face.

Lastly, Amelia Cayul Tranamil, a poet, chef and teacher from Chile, read her poems in her mother tongue as well as in Spanish. She read the poem: Noche in Mapundungun and Spanish composed by herself and a poem: No Quiso Ser: by Miguel Hernandez, as her tribute to the poet who died at a very young age.

At the end of the event, poets shared their experiences about the world affairs on the common people’s life and how the literary world presents it today. The event was ended by the coordinator Manju “Mann” with her poetry recitation titled: La Paz ya ha Muerto, that shows the prevalent issues in the society.

(Report by Manju Yadav, PLCS Spanish Coordinator)