writer • editor • translator
This song by the Instituto Mexicano del Sonido / Mexican Institute of Sound came up on one of my daily Spotify mixes last week and I can’t stop listening to it now—it’s so catchy!
After a few listens you’ll find yourself joining in on the drawn out “aaaahhhhh”s between verses, even if you can’t manage to sing along to the rest of the speedy lyrics . . .
Enjoy:
Mujer, pues, de palabra. No, de palabra no.
Pero sí de palabras,
muchas, contradictorias, ay, insignificantes,
sonido puro, vacuo cernido de arabescos,
juego de salón, chisme, espuma, olvido.
This is one of my favorite poems by Rosario Castellanos. For those of you who can read Spanish, don’t miss reading the full poem here. (This site also has an audio recording of Castellanos reading the poem, so don’t miss that either!)