Latin American Poets from El Salvador
Poetry is a written art that is highly regarded throughout the world. Many Latin countries are known for their romanticism and sensuality in their music and poetry. Salvador may be small, but it still births incredible writers.
This is a country that is one of the widest populated regions in Central America. The full name of the country in Spanish is: Republica de El Salvador which translates in English to Republic of the Savior.
The people of El Salvador have seen much political turmoil over the years. Because of this politically focused world, Salvadoran poetry is filled with stories of the people’s struggle. It is included in many of the literary works.
Literature has many times become an inspiration to the people to keep moving forward in their fight for freedom. The fact that some of the most popular El Salvador poets write about society problems and political issues seems to be solid evidence that this is what speaks the most to the Salvadoran communities.
Poetry originated in the world and quickly became a way to capture the views of a society or faction thereof. It was a way of storytelling or song crafting. Poetry in El Salvador began with the indigenous Lenca and Pepil people creating songs to tell stories and to interpret their religious beliefs and myth of the people.
The more modern form of written poetry was brought over by the settlers from Spain. The original Indigenous people’s oral poetry in the form of song still lingers in modern poetry and song writing of El Salvador. The European form of poetry is also very much a part of the literature scene and culture. Salvadoran poetry through the years has often focused on making political statements, providing religious expression, and any myriad of emotions and topics. This will most likely continue into the future.
Because of the political turmoil within the country, many poets have come on the scene. The poets that have emerged from this culture are many. Below is a sample of the many talented individuals that have come to fruition in the literary world.
Dina Posada, born in the late 1940’s, wrote poetry that celebrated women. She was known for her eroticism and poetry dedicated to the female body. Born and raised in El Salvador she studied journalism prior to traveling to Guatemala where she then studied psychology. Ms. Posada is a literary writer for many publications in Guatemala. Her poetry has been translated into multiple languages. A few of her anthologies include Voces sin Fronteras, Poesia Salvadorena Del Siglo XX, Mujer, Cuerpo Y Palabra and Trilogia poetica de las mujeras en Hispanoamerica.
Roman Mayorga Rivas, born in 1862 is renown as being the father of modern journalism in El Salvador. Born in Nicaragua, he moved with his parent to El Salvador as young boy. When he was only 15 years old he created the El Cometa newspaper and a few years later the Diario del Cometa and El Estudiante. Rivas was a journalist and romantic poet. Having been touted as beginning the reemergence of romanticism while at the same time building the modernist movement in El Salvador. During the prime of Rivas Journalism career, he brought the first duplex printer into El Salvador. Rivas has been translated in English, Italian, Portuguese and French. Later in his career he became a public official serving as Secretary of the Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington, DC.
Roque Dalton Garcia, born in the mid 1930’s, is one of South America’s most prolific poets even though he studied law at the Universidad de Chile. During much of Roque’s career he was not only a literary figure in Latin America, he was also a great speaker for the Revolutionary Movement in El Salvador. Because of this, Dalton became imprisoned in 1965 and awaited execution. Due to extraordinary circumstances, an earthquake destroyed part of the prison allowing for Dalton’s escape. Roque Dalton’s Poema de Amor is one of the most recognizable poems in the Salvadoran community. Much of his poetry has been transposed musically.
During his life, he was a great poet, lawyer, militiaman, journalist and activist. Because of his affiliations and political ties, Roque Dalton was murdered by a faction of the ERP who accused Dalton of conspiring with the CIA. He is still revered in El Salvador and is seen on postage stamps for his country.
We have Alfredo Espino with a collection of ninety-six of his poems are contained in his only published book: Jicaras Tristes. This book is one of the most distributed book of poetry in El Salvador. Sadly he did not live to see his poems become published in his lifetime.
Also well known is Alberto Masferrer. Masferrer was a Salvadoran poet, who was also a fiction writer, a philosopher, and a journalist. He created the philosophical ideas of Vitalismo. Vitalismo is the belief that every person has the right to food, shelter, work and education. His writings focused on human rights and social issues.
