“Could it be from some Congo, some Bantu?”
Guillén, who later became the National Poet of Cuba, used his work to explore mestizaje (racial mixing) and the distinct African roots of Caribbean culture. "El Apellido" specifically focuses on how transatlantic slavery stripped millions of Africans of their original family names, replacing them with the surnames of Spanish slave owners. English Translation of "El Apellido" (The Surname)
¿No os llama la atención mi nombre? ¿No os dice nada ese apellido tan blando, tan de casta de Castilla? ¿No hay nada en él que os hable de la noche, de la selva profunda, del cañón de la pólvora? el apellido nicolas guillen english translation
Inland, drums were sounding; reed flutes trembled. And my grandparents, grandfather from over there, grandmother from over yonder, above this, below that, they said nothing.
Guillén was a master of poesía negra , a genre heavily influenced by the rhythms of African musical traditions, particularly the Cuban son . “Could it be from some Congo, some Bantu
The phrase translates to "The Surname" or "My Last Name" .
To truly understand this phrase, one must look beyond literal translation. The name carries immense weight in Afro-Cuban history, literature, and the unique evolution of Hispanic naming traditions. ¿No os dice nada ese apellido tan blando,
Using the "son" (a Cuban musical genre) to dictate the meter of his verses.
However, to provide more context about Nicolás Guillén:
This poem remains urgently relevant. It speaks to anyone grappling with inherited names that tell only half the story—or the wrong one. Translating Guillén is an act of recovery, making visible the silenced genealogy that his verse refuses to forget. An English version invites readers outside the Spanish-speaking world to witness how a name can be both a wound and a weapon, and how poetry becomes a means of reclamation.