Download A ROOSEVELT

A ROOSEVELT
por Rubén Darío (Málaga, 1904)
Theodore Roosevelt was the very symbol of U.S. incursions into Latin America that outraged even nonpolitical poets
such as Rubén Darío (1867-1916). Latin Americans had admired the energy, wealth, and democracy of the United
States, but now they feared the bullying of their northern neighbor. President Roosevelt supported a 1903
revolution in Panama that resulted in the annexation by the U.S. of territory for the Panama Canal, and in 1904
proclaimed a corollary to the Monroe Doctrine which justified the use of the U.S. military to “police” Latin America.
Es con voz de la Biblia, o verso de Walt Whitman1,
que habría que llegar hasta ti, Cazador!
Primitivo y moderno, sencillo y complicado,
con un algo de Washington2 y cuatro de Nemrod!3
Eres los Estados Unidos,
eres el futuro invasor
de la América ingenua que tiene sangre indígena,
ingenua = inocente
que aun reza a Jesucristo y aun habla en español.
Eres soberbio y fuerte ejemplar de tu raza;
eres culto, eres hábil; te opones a
Tolstoy.4
Y domando caballos, o asesinando tigres,
soberbio = arrogante, vanidoso
culto = educado; hábil = astuto, sagaz
domar = domesticar
eres un Alejandro - Nabucodonosor.
(Eres un profesor de Energía,
como dicen los locos de hoy.)
Crees que la vida es incendio,
incendio = fuego
que el progreso es erupción,
que en donde pones la bala
el porvenir pones.
porvenir = el futuro
No.
----------------------------1Whitman,
Walt (Walter Whitman), 1819–92, Considered by many to be the greatest of all American poets, Walt Whitman celebrated the
freedom and dignity of the individual and sang the praises of democracy and the brotherhood of man.
2Washington,
George, 1732–99, 1st President of the United States (1789–97), commander in chief of the Continental army in the American
Revolution, called the Father of His Country.
3Nimrod,
in the Bible, descendant of Cush who is recorded as a mighty hunter.
4Tolstoy,
Leo, Count,), 1828–1910, Russian novelist and philosopher considered one of the greatest writers of all time. His pacifist beliefs were
often reflected in his later works.
5Alexander
the Great or Alexander III, 356–323 B.C., king of Macedon, conqueror of much of Asia.
6Nebuchadnezzar,
d. 562 B.C., king of Babylonia (c.605–562 B.C.). In his father's reign he was sent to oppose the Egyptians, who were occupying
W Syria and Palestine. He defeated (605 B.C.) Pharaoh Necho, thus becoming the undisputed master of Western Asia. Nebuchadnezzar was a
splendid builder, and Babylon with its hanging gardens was then the greatest city of the ancient world.
Los Estados Unidos son potentes y grandes.
potentes = poderosos
Cuando ellos se estremecen hay un hondo temblor
estremecerse = temblarse
que pasa por las vértebras enormes de los Andes.
Si clamáis, se oye como el rugir del león.
clamar = gritar
Ya Hugo7 a Grant lo dijo: “Las estrellas son vuestras”.
vuestras = de ustedes
(Apenas brilla, alzándose, el argentino sol
alzar = levantar
y la estrella chilena se levanta. . .) Sois ricos.
sois = ustedes son
Juntáis al culto de Hércules8 el culto de Mammón;9
y alumbrando el camino de la fácil conquista,
la Libertad levanta su antorcha en Nueva-York.
alumbrar = iluminar
antorcha
Mas la América nuestra, que tenía poetas
desde los viejos tiempos de Netzahualcoyotl,10
que ha guardado las huellas de los pies del gran Baco,11
que el alfabeto pánico12 en un tiempo aprendió;
pánico = de Pan
que consultó los astros, que conoció la Atlántida,13
astros = estrellas
cuyo nombre nos llega resonando en Platón,14
resonar = retumbar, tronar
--------------------------------------------------7Hugo,
Victor, 1802–85, French writer. Escribió contra el presidente Ulises Grant (1822-1885), cuando éste visitó París en 1877.
Simbólicamente, “las estrellas son vuestras” se refería tanto al poder de los Estados Unidos (dueño del cielo y de la tierra) como al
aumento de las estrellas (una por cada Estado), estampada en su bandera.
8Hercules,
most popular of all Greek heroes, famous for extraordinary strength and courage. In art Hercules was portrayed as a
powerful, muscular man wearing a lion's skin and armed with a huge club.
9mammon,
Aramaic term, meaning worldly riches, retained in the New Testament Greek. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” is
one of the most noted biblical strictures.
10Netzahualcóyotl,
King, (1402 – 1472) was King of Texcoco (in modern Mexico), the Pre-Columbian state of Alcohuan, a
Nahuatl-speaking people. In alliance with Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City), his state became the second most important
politically in the Aztec Empire. He was a noted poet, philosopher, and patron of the arts.
11Bacchus,
in Roman religion and mythology, god of wine; he represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its
social and beneficent influences. He is viewed as the promoter of civilization, a lawgiver, and lover of peace — as well as the
patron deity of both agriculture and the theater.
12Pan,
the ancient Greek god of forests, pastures, flocks, and shepherds, represented with the head, chest, and arms of a man and
the legs and sometimes the horns and ears of a goat.
13Atlantis,
in Greek legend, large island in the western sea (the Atlantic Ocean). Plato, in his dialogues the Timaeus and the
Critias, tells of the high civilization that flourished there before the island was destroyed by an earthquake. The legend persists,
and societies for the discovery of Atlantis remain active. Plato described Atlantis as an ideal state, and the name is considered
synonymous with Utopia.
14Plato,
427?–347 B.C., Greek philosopher. Plato's teachings have been among the most influential in the history of Western
civilization. The story of the lost city or continent of Atlantis came to us as an illustrative story told by Plato.
que desde los remotos momentos de su vida
vive de luz, de fuego, de perfume, de amor,
la América del grande Moctezuma,15 del Inca,16
la América fragante de Cristóbal Colón,
la América católica, la América española,
la América en que dijo el noble Guatemoc:17
“Yo no estoy en un lecho de rosas”; esa América
lecho = cama
que tiembla de huracanes y que vive de Amor;
hombres de ojos sajones y alma bárbara, vive.
sajones = Saxon; bárbaro = salvaje
Y sueña. Y ama. Y vibra; y es la hija del Sol.
Tened cuidado. ¡Vive la América Española!
Hay mil cachorros sueltos del León Español.
Se necesitaría, Roosevelt, ser, por Dios mismo,
el Riflero terrible y el fuerte Cazador,
para poder tenernos en vuestras férreas garras.
férreo = de hierro
Y, pues contáis con todo, falta una cosa: ¡Dios!
España
----------------------------------------15Montezuma
or Moctezuma [mok–] , 1480?–1520, Aztec emperor (c.1502–1520). His reign was marked by incessant warfare,
and his despotic rule caused grave unrest. When Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico he was thus able to gain native allies, notably in
the province of the Tlaxcala. Montezuma, believing the Spanish to be descendants of the god Quetzalcoatl, tried to persuade them
to leave by offering rich gifts. That failing, he received them in his splendid court at Tenochtitlán in November 1519. Cortés later
seized him as a hostage and attempted to govern through him. In June 1520, the Aztec rose against the Spanish. Montezuma was
killed, although whether by the Spanish or the Aztec is not certain. His successor died a few months later and was replaced by
Cuauhtémoc.
16Inca,
The Inca Empire was centered in what is now Peru from 1438 AD to 1533 AD. Over that period, the Inca used conquest
and peaceful assimilation to incorporate in their empire a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean
mountain ranges. The Inca Empire proved short-lived: by 1533 AD, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, called a Sapa Inca, was
killed on the orders of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, marking the beginning of Spanish rule.
17Cuauhtémoc,
(1502 - February 26, 1525) was the last Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlán and the last "Aztec Emperor". Cuauhtémoc
took power in 1520 as successor of Cuaitláhuac and was a nephew of the emperor Moctezuma II, and his young wife was one of
Moctezuma's daughters. Cuauhtémoc was captured by Hernán Cortés, and Cuauhtémoc was hanged on 26 February 1525. He is
attributed with saying, “¿Acaso estoy yo en un lecho de rosas?” as he was stoically enduring being tortured by the Spaniards.
******Definitions mostly from: http://www.infoplease.com/