WELCOME TO THIS POST!
A LOVELY WHITE ROSE, A SYMBOLOF PURITY!
Click to enlarge
Source: Michael Gwyther-Jones, CC BY 2.0. Wikimedia Commons
He was a
Chilean writer and poet born in 1910 in Rancagua, a city that’s a short
distance south of Santiago, the capital. He came from a numerous family of six
children.
His health
was poor right from a very young age, and added to the fact that his father
abandoned the family while Oscar was still in school, had the result of making
him a self-educated person who never finished his formal schooling.
In 1926
some of his poems were published in a magazine under another name, and by 1929
he was publishing under his real name.
In 1935 he
took on a job as a writer for one of the Santiago newspapers and he also
married another writer, the poetess known as Isolda Pradel (her real name was
Ernestina Zúñiga).
His health
continued to weaken, so he returned to his home town, Rancagua, and found a position
as librarian of the Boys’ Secondary School in that town. He also gave the
students Spanish classes.
His health
finally gave out in September of 1947, so he was taken to the Salvador Hospital
in Santiago where he died on the 1st of November of that year.
In 1971 the
school in Rancagua where he worked was renamed “Liceo Oscar Castro Zúñiga” (his
full name), as a result of various petitions made by the students and his
fellow writers.
A selection
of his poems now graces the entry to the school.
A PHOTO OF THE POET
Click to enlarge
Source: Archivo de Oscar Castro, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
HIS
WRITINGS.
In his
published work, Oscar Castro shows two distinct styles.
His poetry
is rather melancholy, very transparent and lyrical in its use of metaphors. The
themes are mostly romantic.
His prose
is very different, and some of his work is extremely realistic, often raw and
even visceral.
His poetry does not follow the traditional style of other Chilean
poets, his writers’ voice is very much his own.
HIS POEMS AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE SCHOOL WHERE HE WORKED
Click to enlarge
Source: Warko2006, CC BY 3.0. Wikimedia Commons
THE MUSICAL VERSIONS OF HIS POEMS.
A few of his poems have been set to music and interpreted by a group
called “Los Cuatro de Chile”. These are the four members of the Duvauchelle family,
three brothers and a sister. They were famous in the Chilean theater, and the
sister, Maria Elena, appears to be still active on the stage.
I have included a video with the music for a specific poem, which I will
be presenting on this post: “Oración para que no me olvides”
MY FREE TRANSLATION OF THE LYRICS.
A PRAYER THAT YOU WILL NEVER FORGET ME
I.
I will start to live in each rose
And in each lily that your eyes will see
And in every bird trill I’ll sing your name
So that you‘ll never forget me.
II.
If you cry as you contemplate the stars
And your soul fills with impossibilities,
It’s because my loneliness has come to kiss you
So that you’ll never forget me.
III.
I will paint a rose colored horizon
And I will paint blue wallflowers
And I will guild the moon on your hair
So that you’ll never forget me.
IV.
If asleep you sweetly walk
Through a world of diaphanous gardens,
Think of my heart that dreams of you,
So that you’ll never forget me.
V.
And if some evening, at a far away altar,
You hold another’s hand, and you are blessed,
When the golden ring is placed on your finger,
My soul will be an invisible tear
In the eyes of the moribund Christ
¡So that you’ll never forget me!
THE SPANISH VERSION
(This Blog is Bilingual).
ORACIÓN PARA QUE NO ME OLVIDES.
I.
Yo me pondrá a
vivir en cada rosa
Y en cada lirio que
tus ojos miren
Y en todo trino
cantaré tu nombre
Para que no me olvides.
II.
Si contemplas
llorando las estrellas
Y se te llena el
alma de imposibles,
Es que mi soledad
viene a besarte
Para que no me
olvides.
III.
Yo pintaré de rosa
el horizonte
Y pintaré de azul
los alelíes
Y doraré de luna
tus cabellos
Para que no me
olvides.
IV.
Si dormida caminas
dulcemente
Por un mundo de
diáfanos jardines,
Piensa en mi
corazón que por ti sueña,
Para que no me
olvides.
V.
Y si una tarde, en
un altar lejano,
De otra mano
cogida, te bendicen,
Cuando te pongan el
anillo de oro,
Mi alma será una lágrima invisible
En los ojos de
Cristo moribundo
¡Para que no me
olvides!
THE VIDEO BY THE
CUARTET “LOS CUATRO DE CHILE”
Isn’t that
beautiful!
All in all, a lovely poem and a lovely interpretation done by professional
actors!
I hope you have enjoyed this post as much as I have!
I hope to see you on the next one!
A PARTING GIFT, ANOTHER LOVELY ROSE!
Click to enlarge
Source: Pixabay, Public Domain
© 2013 jveronr (Joan Robertson)
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