Arts and Literature of Cuba

the Yoruba, whether their ancestors were Spanish, or—as was the case for many like himself—whether they were mulatto. “Son número 6” (“ Son Number 6”), is probably the most famous poem from Motivos de son (the translation here is by Salvador Ortiz-Carboneres of the University of Warwick):

I’m Yoruba, crying out Yoruba Lucumí. Since I’m Yoruba from Cuba, I want my lament of Yoruba to touch Cuba the joyful weeping Yoruba that comes out of me. . . . .

Listen my friends, to my ‘son’ which begins like this:

Here is the riddle of all my hopes:

what’s mine is yours, what’s yours is mine; all the blood shaping a river. . . . . We’ve come together from far away, young ones and old, Blacks and Whites, moving together; one is a leader, the other a follower, all moving together; . . . . . . everyone pulling together!

Poetry 15