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 by a television screen and disappear, so has my life passed. Like cars that sped down 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 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. 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 transient nature of life and beauty, capturing a sense of nostalgia and loss. It is likely influenced by Cardenal's revolutionary experiences and his reflections on societal changes.

Sources: https://akifrases.com/frase/145026, https://cincuentopia.com/ernesto-cardenal-latas-cerveza-vacias-colillas/, https://emiliomontehernanz.blogspot.com/2012/05/como-latas-de-cerveza-vacia-de-ernesto.html, https://poemas.yavendras.com/latas-cerveza-vacias-colillas.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernesto_Cardenal

Detailed Explanation

This poem by Ernesto Cardenal uses vivid imagery to convey a sense of nostalgia and the fleeting nature of life. The poet compares his days to empty beer cans and extinguished cigarette butts, suggesting a sense of emptiness and waste. Life is depicted as ephemeral, like figures on a TV screen that vanish, or cars speeding by with laughter and music that quickly fade. The beauty of life, symbolized by car models and radio songs, passes swiftly and becomes outdated. The poem concludes with a poignant reflection on the remnants of the past—empty cans, cigarette butts, faded laughter in photos, and the sawdust used to clean bars—emphasizing the transient and often forgotten nature of human experiences.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
Como	igual que	like	koh-moh
latas	recipientes metálicos	cans	lah-tahs
de	del	of	deh
cerveza	bebida alcohólica	beer	ser-veh-sah
vacías	sin contenido	empty	vah-see-ahs
y	e	and	ee
colillas	restos de cigarrillos	cigarette butts	koh-lee-yahs
cigarrillos	tabacos	cigarettes	see-gah-ree-yohs
apagados	extintos	extinguished	ah-pah-gah-dohs
han	han tenido	have	ahn
sido	estado	been	see-doh
mis	míos	my	mees
días	jornadas	days	dee-ahs
figuras	formas	figures	fee-goo-rahs
que	las cuales	than	keh
pasan	transitan	pass	pah-sahn
por	a través de	through	pohr
una	una sola	a	oo-nah
pantalla	monitor	screen	pahn-tah-yah
televisión	TV	television	teh-leh-vee-see-ohn
desaparecen	se esfuman	disappear	deh-sah-pah-reh-sen
así	de esta manera	so	ah-see
ha	ha sido	has	ah
pasado	transcurrido	passed	pah-sah-doh
mi	mío	my	mee
vida	existencia	life	vee-dah
automóviles	coches	cars	ow-toh-moh-vee-les
pasaban	transitaban	sped	pah-sah-bahn
rápidos	veloces	fast	rah-pee-dohs
las	las mismas	the	lahs
carreteras	vías	highways	kah-reh-teh-rahs
con	junto a	with	kohn
risas	carcajadas	laughter	ree-sahs
muchachas	chicas	girls	moo-chah-chahs
músicas	melodías	music	moo-see-kahs
radios	aparatos de radio	radios	rah-dee-ohs
Y	e	and	ee
la	la misma	the	lah
belleza	hermosura	beauty	beh-yeh-sah
pasó	transcurrió	passed	pah-soh
rápida	veloz	quickly	rah-pee-dah
como	igual que	like	koh-moh
el	el mismo	the	el
modelo	tipo	model	moh-deh-loh
los	de los	the	lohs
autos	coches	cars	ow-tohs
canciones	melodías	songs	kahn-see-oh-nes
pasaron	transcurrieron	went	pah-sah-rohn
moda	tendencia	fashion	moh-dah
no	nada	nothing	noh
quedado	permanecido	remained	keh-dah-doh
nada	ninguna cosa	nothing	nah-dah
aquellos	esos	those	ah-keh-yohs
más	solamente	only	mahs
apagadas	extintas	extinguished	ah-pah-gah-dahs
en	dentro de	in	en
fotos	fotografías	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	a el	at	ahl
amanecer	alba	dawn	ah-mah-neh-sehr
barrieron	limpiaron	swept	bah-rree-eh-rohn
bares	tabernas	bars	bah-res