," you are looking at the names of Cuba's celebrated National Poet, whose full name was Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista . Etymology and Meaning
The most authoritative English versions can be found in bilingual anthologies that preserve the original Spanish alongside the translated text: My Last Name by Roberto Márquez: Featured in the anthology My Last Name and Other Poems , this is the most widely cited academic translation. The Surname by Robert Márquez and David Arthur McMurray: Included in Man-making Words: Selected Poems of Nicolás Guillén 2. Core Meaning & Themes The poem is a profound meditation on the colonial branding of African descendants in the Americas. Course Hero Identity Erasure: el apellido nicolas guillen english translation
is a lament. The speaker (presumably Guillén himself, or a persona representing the disenfranchised Black Cuban) realizes that his surname—Guillén—comes from a Spanish slave owner, not from his African ancestors. He has no way of knowing his true last name: the one from the Yoruba, Kongo, or Arará tribes his great-grandparents were ripped from. ," you are looking at the names of
El Apellido " (The Family Name), written by the Cuban national poet , is a foundational work of Afro-Cuban literature. It explores the loss of African identity and ancestral names due to the transatlantic slave trade. Core Meaning & Themes The poem is a