Como latas de cerveza vacías y colillas by Ernesto Cardenal — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

Como latas de cerveza vacías y colillas de cigarrillos apagados, han sido mis días. Como figuras que pasan por una pantalla de televisión y desaparecen, así ha pasado mi vida. Como automóviles que pasaban rápidos por las carreteras con risas de muchachas y músicas de radios... Y la belleza pasó rápida, como el modelo de los autos y las canciones de los radios que pasaron de moda. Y no ha quedado nada de aquellos días, nada, más que latas vacías y colillas apagadas, risas en fotos marchitas, boletos rotos, y el aserrín con que al amanecer barrieron los bares.

Translation (English)

Like empty beer cans and extinguished cigarette butts, my days have been. Like figures that pass on a television screen and disappear, so has my life passed. Like cars that sped quickly on the highways with the laughter of girls and music from radios... And beauty passed quickly, like the car models and the songs on the radios that went out of fashion. And nothing remains of those days, nothing, more than empty cans and extinguished butts, laughter in withered photos, torn tickets, and the sawdust with which they swept the bars at dawn.

About the Poet

Ernesto Cardenal (20th Century)

Ernesto Cardenal Martínez (1925–2020) was a Nicaraguan Catholic priest, revolutionary, poet, and politician. He was a liberation theologian and the founder of the primitivist art community in the Solentiname Islands. A former member of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, he served as Nicaragua's minister of culture from 1979 to 1987.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Free verse
When Written: 20th Century
Background: The poem reflects on the fleeting nature of life and beauty, using metaphors of everyday objects to convey a sense of nostalgia and loss. Cardenal's work often explores themes of social justice, spirituality, and the passage of time.

Sources: https://ciudadseva.com/texto/como-latas-de-cerveza-vacias-y-colillas/, https://www.poemas-del-alma.com/ernesto-cardenal-como-latas-de-cerveza-vacias.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernesto_Cardenal, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_poetry

Detailed Explanation

This poem by Ernesto Cardenal uses vivid imagery to express the transient nature of life and beauty. The poet compares his days to empty beer cans and cigarette butts, suggesting a sense of waste and ephemerality. Life is likened to fleeting images on a television screen, emphasizing how quickly time passes. The poem continues with the metaphor of fast-moving cars, accompanied by the laughter of girls and radio music, to illustrate the swift passage of beauty and trends. Ultimately, the poem reflects on the remnants of these experiences, symbolized by empty cans, cigarette butts, and other discarded items, evoking a sense of nostalgia and loss. Cardenal's work often intertwines personal reflection with broader social commentary, capturing the impermanence of life and the inevitability of change.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
Como	igual a	like	koh-moh
latas	envases	cans	lah-tahs
de	de	from	deh
cerveza	bebida alcohólica	beer	ser-veh-sah
vacías	sin contenido	empty	vah-see-ahs
y	e	as well as	ee
colillas	restos de cigarrillos	cigarette butts	koh-lee-yahs
cigarrillos	tabacos	cigarettes	see-gah-ree-yohs
apagados	extinguidos	extinguished	ah-pah-gah-dohs
han	han	have been	ahn
sido	estado	been	see-doh
mis	mis	my own	mees
días	jornadas	days	dee-ahs
figuras	imágenes	figures	fee-goo-rahs
que	que	which	keh
pasan	cruzan	pass	pah-sahn
por	a través de	through	pohr
una	una	one	oo-nah
pantalla	monitor	screen	pahn-tah-yah
televisión	TV	television	teh-leh-vee-see-ohn
desaparecen	se van	disappear	deh-sah-pah-reh-sen
así	de esta manera	so	ah-see
ha	ha	has been	ah
pasado	transcurrido	passed	pah-sah-doh
mi	mi	my own	mee
vida	existencia	life	vee-dah
automóviles	coches	cars	ow-toh-moh-vee-les
pasaban	cruzaban	passed	pah-sah-bahn
rápidos	veloces	quickly	rah-pee-dohs
las	las	the (feminine plural)	lahs
carreteras	caminos	highways	kah-reh-teh-rahs
con	junto a	together with	kohn
risas	carcajadas	laughter	ree-sahs
muchachas	chicas	girls	moo-chah-chahs
músicas	canciones	music	moo-see-kahs
radios	emisoras	radios	rah-dee-ohs
Y	Y	And also	ee
la	la	the (feminine singular)	lah
belleza	hermosura	beauty	beh-yeh-sah
pasó	transcurrió	passed	pah-soh
rápida	veloz	quickly	rah-pee-dah
como	igual a	as	koh-moh
el	el	the (masculine singular)	el
modelo	diseño	model	moh-deh-loh
los	los	the (masculine plural)	lohs
autos	coches	cars	ow-tohs
canciones	músicas	songs	kahn-see-oh-nes
pasaron	transcurrieron	went	pah-sah-rohn
moda	tendencia	fashion	moh-dah
no	no	not any	noh
quedado	permanecido	remained	keh-dah-doh
nada	nada	not anything	nah-dah
aquellos	esos	those	ah-keh-yohs
más	solamente	more	mahs
apagadas	extinguidas	extinguished	ah-pah-gah-dahs
en	dentro de	in	en
fotos	imágenes	photos	foh-tohs
marchitas	descoloridas	withered	mahr-chee-tahs
boletos	entradas	tickets	boh-leh-tohs
rotos	desgarrados	torn	roh-tohs
aserrín	polvo de madera	sawdust	ah-seh-reen
al	al	to the	ahl
amanecer	alba	dawn	ah-mah-neh-sehr
barrieron	limpiaron	swept	bah-ree-eh-rohn
bares	tabernas	bars	bah-rehs