The Ofi Press Magazine

  Published in Issue 23.

Alberto Blanco is one of Latin America's most acclaimed poets and his interests range from chemistry to art to jazz. Poet José Emilio Pacheco has written of Blanco that "in his poems, nothing is lost...everything streams into his words."

Blanco has published more than two dozen books of poetry as well as essays on art and books for children (some illustrated by his wife Patricia Revah). He has won numerous awards including the "Alfonso X el Sabio" from San Diego State University in 2002 for excellence in literary translation. In 2008 he was awarded a Guggenheim Grant for his poetry. His interests and work have taken him around the globe. He has pursued Asian studies with a specialization in Chinese culture, and he accepted a residency in Italy that was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Translation by Elise Miller.

PATRIA  SONORA

Que no falten

el martillo y el cincel;

Que no falten

los camiones y los autos;

Que no falten

los perros ladradores;

Si no te gusta el ruido

es que no eres mexicano.

NOISY HOMELAND

Let there be no lack

of hammers and chisels;

Let there be no lack of

buses and cars;

 Let there be no lack

of barking dogs;

If you don’t like noise,

it’s because you’re not a Mexican.