Category: Uncategorized

To María by Pastora Alomía de Guerrero

Translated to English by Richard Gabela on March 24, 2025, from the original work A María by Pastora Alomía de Guerrero (1835–1919) of Ibarra, Ecuador. This poem was published in Parnaso ecuatoriano (1879), edited by Manuel Gallegos Naranjo.

To María

Are you leaving for the countryside, my dear friend!
What gift can I offer you upon your departure…?
A sad and tender farewell
Is all my love can give you, sweet María!

You go, bearing my soul within your breast,
You go, leaving sorrow in my heart,
You go, abandoning me to the chaos I endure,
You go, bearing my passion still alive!

I bid you farewell on this sorrowful day,
A farewell that consumes my chest with pain;
I wish I did not exist in this hour
That steals from me the sight of María.

Will you reach the garden of your meadow
And gladly open its trellis,
Gathering beautiful flowers each day
Without sending me a cypress or a willow, at least?

No, María! Remember how Pastora,
When she was still in the countryside,
Would sing to your enchanting memory
In rhythm with the sparrow’s melodious trills.

My voice, mingled with sighs for your absence,
Sang in sweet harmony with the blackbird’s song;
Do the same, I beg you, in mercy,
And I will honor your noble gesture.

I would fly into your arms without delay,
Ah! to see you in your heavenly dwelling,
And leaving behind this face of sadness,
Place my heart gently in your hands.

Meanwhile, send your sigh
To that sad place where I once lived,
Where with you, my friend, I used to dream,
And to see you again, ah! I lose my mind.

Translator’s Note: I chose to translate A María because it is a deeply personal and emotionally resonant farewell poem that captures the intimate voice of Pastora Alomía de Guerrero, one of Ecuador’s earliest recognized women poets. Written in the tradition of romantic lyricism, the poem is a tender elegy to a departing friend—possibly a stand-in for lost love, companionship, or even youth itself. Its imagery of gardens, birdsong, sighs, and heartfelt absence evokes both a pastoral landscape and an inner world shaken by longing. What moved me most was how the speaker offers no grand gestures, only the sincerity of her emotion—a farewell shaped by vulnerability and poetic memory. I aimed to preserve both the clarity and musicality of Pastora’s voice, allowing English readers to experience the quiet intensity of her lament, and to glimpse the lyrical soul that earned her praise in 19th-century Ecuador.

A María

¿Te retiras al campo, amiga mía!
¡Qué obsequio puedo hacerte en tu partida…?
Una triste y sensible despedida
Te dedica mi amor, dulce María!
Partes llevando mi alma allá en tu seno,
Partes dejando pena al corazón,
Partes dejándome en el caos que peno,
Partes llevando viva mi pasión!
Un adios te dirijo en triste día,
Un adios que á mi pecho le devora;
No existir yo quisiera en esa hora
Que me arranca la vista de María.
¿Llegarás al jardín de tu pradera
I gozosa abrirás su celosía,
Tomando bellas flores cada día
Sin enviarme un ciprés ó un saúz siquiera?
¡No María! recuerda que Pastora
Cuando estaba del campo en posesion,
Cantaba á tu memoria encantadora
Al compas de los trinos del gorrion.
Mezclada de suspiros por tu ausencia
Con el mirlo entonaba su cancion;
Haz tú á la vez lo mismo, por clemencia,
Que yo retomaré tu noble accion.
Volaría yo á tus brazos con presteza,
Ay! por verte en tu célica mansion,
I dejando el semblante de tristeza
En tus manos pondría mi corazón.
Entre tanto, dirije tu suspiro
A ese triste lugar do yo habitaba,
Donde contigo, amiga, yo soñaba,
I por verte otra vez, ay! yo deliro.

Hernando Alcocer

Hernando Alcocer was a Jesuit priest from Quito, known among his contemporaries and fellow Jesuits for the poetic compositions that earned him a reputation as an inspired voice. Alongside his brother Marcos, he helped elevate and strengthen the reputation of the Gregorian University, founded in 1620, through their intellectual and scholarly contributions.

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Pedro Alcocer

Pedro Alcocer, the youngest of the three Alcocer brothers, was also a Jesuit and a poet from Quito. He was considered to possess an even greater poetic gift than his brothers, showing particular inspiration as a lyrical voice. According to chronicles from 1674, Pedro died young due to a stomach illness reportedly caused by his repeated fasting, cutting short a promising literary and spiritual life.

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Grupo Umbral [the Umbral Group]

Grupo Umbral [the Umbral Group] was a literary group founded in Quito in 1952 which included notable Ecuadorian authors such as Alfonso Barrera Valverde, César Dávila Torres, Eduardo Villacís, Eduardo Félix, Guillermo Ríos, Alicia Yánez Cossío, Walter Franco Serrano and César Ayala.

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Ecuador’s National Anthem Lyrics

Translated to English by Richard Gabela on April 19, 2024, from the original work “Himno Nacional del Ecuador” (1865) by Juan León Mera (1832-1894) of Ambato, Ecuador.

Ecuador’s National Anthem Lyrics

Chorus:
Hail, O Homeland, a thousand times hail!
O Homeland, glory to you! Your heart overflows
with joy and peace, and your radiant face
shines brighter than the sun we behold.

I
Indignant, your children rose against the yoke
imposed by Iberian audacity,
against the unjust and horrendous suffering
that fatally weighed upon you.
They raised a holy voice to the heavens,
a voice of noble and unmatched commitment,
to avenge you from the bloody monster,
to break that servile yoke.

Chorus

II (official verse)
The first, the sons of the soil
which Pichincha proudly adorns,
acclaimed you as their eternal lady,
and shed their blood for you.
God saw and accepted the sacrifice,
and that blood was the fruitful seed
of other heroes whom the world, astonished,
saw rise around you by the thousands.

Chorus

III
Against the iron arm of these heroes,
no land was invincible,
and from the valley to the highest sierra,
the roar of battle could be heard.
After the battle, victory flew,
freedom followed the triumph,
and the lion, broken,
was heard roaring in helplessness and despair.

Chorus

IV
At last, Spanish ferocity yielded,
and today, O Homeland, your free existence
is the noble and magnificent heritage
given to us by felicitous heroism.
We received it from paternal hands,
let no one attempt to wrest it from us now,
nor does any foolish or audacious one
wish to provoke our vengeful anger against themselves.

Chorus

V
Let no one, O Homeland, attempt it. The shadows
of your glorious heroes watch over us,
and the valor and pride they inspire
are omens of triumphs for you.
Bring forth the iron and the fulminating lead,
for at the thought of war and vengeance
awakens the heroic strength
that made the fierce Spanish succumb.

Chorus

VI
And if new chains are prepared
by the unjustness of barbaric fate,
great Pichincha! may you foresee the death
of the homeland and its children in the end.
Sink swiftly into your deep entrails
all that exists on your land. Let the tyrant
tread only ashes and in vain
seek any trace of being beside you.

Chorus

Translator’s Note: The decision to translate the national anthem of Ecuador, penned by Juan León Mera, a revered writer and poet known for his contributions to Ecuadorian literature, including his influential novel “Cumandá” published in 1879, holds profound cultural and historical significance. Set to music by Antonio Neumane in 1870 and adopted in 1948, this anthem embodies the Ecuadorian spirit of resilience and patriotism, celebrating the nation’s journey towards freedom and sovereignty. Through Mera’s evocative lyrics and Neumane’s stirring composition, the anthem serves as a powerful symbol of unity and pride, inspiring generations of Ecuadorians to stand tall in the face of adversity.

Original Spanish Version

Himno Nacional del Ecuador

Coro:
¡Salve, Oh Patria, mil veces! ¡Oh Patria,
gloria a ti! Ya tu pecho rebosa
gozo y paz, y tu frente radiosa
más que el sol contemplamos lucir.

I
Indignados tus hijos del yugo
que te impuso la ibérica audacia,
de la injusta y horrenda desgracia
que pesaba fatal sobre ti,
santa voz a los cielos alzaron,
voz de noble y sin par juramento,
de vengarte del monstruo sangriento,
de romper ese yugo servil.

Coro

II (verso oficial)
Los primeros, los hijos del suelo
que, soberbio, el Pichincha decora,
te aclamaron por siempre señora
y vertieron su sangre por tí.
Dios miró y aceptó el holocausto
y esa sangre fue germen fecundo
de otros héroes que atónito el mundo
vió en tu torno a millares surgir.

Coro

III
De estos héroes al brazo del hierro
nada tuvo invencible la tierra,
y del valle a la altísima sierra
se escuchaba el fragor de la lid.
Tras la lid, la victoria volaba,
libertad tras el triunfo venía,
y al león destrozado se oía
de impotencia y despecho rugir.

Coro

IV
Cedió al fin la fiereza española,
y hoy, oh Patria, tu libre existencia
es la noble y magnífica herencia
que nos dio el heroísmo feliz.
De las manos paternas la hubimos,
nadie intente arrancárnosla ahora,
ni nuestra ira excitar vengadora
quiera, necio o audaz, contra sí.

Coro

V
Nadie, oh Patria, lo intente. Las sombras
de tus héroes gloriosos nos miran,
y el valor y el orgullo que inspiran
son augurios de triunfos por ti.
Venga el hierro y el plomo fulmíneo,
que a la idea de guerra y venganza
se despierta la heroica pujanza
que hizo al fiero español sucumbir.

Coro

VI
Y si nuevas cadenas prepara
la injusticia de bárbara suerte,
¡gran Pichincha! prevén tú la muerte
de la Patria y sus hijos al fin
Hunde al punto en tus hondas entrañas
cuanto existe en tu tierra, el tirano
huelle solo cenizas y en vano
busque rastro de ser junto a ti.

Coro