El Apellido Nicolas Guillen English Translation ⟶

You? Yes, me. What did you say? That they are robbing me of my last name! Translating Guillén is notoriously difficult. Here is why the el apellido nicolas guillen english translation above took specific liberties: 1. The word "Carajo" In the line "que me lo quiten, carajo," the word carajo is a Cuban interjection of frustration—roughly equivalent to "damn it" or "for heaven's sake." A literal translation ("penis") would be incorrect. The translation uses "damn it" to preserve the violent frustration of the speaker. 2. "Muchachos" Translated as "boys" or "guys." In context, Guillén is speaking to his comrades—other mixed-race and Black Cubans who share his experience. It implies a political solidarity. 3. "Una mazorca verde" (A green ear of corn) This is a metaphor for potential. The green corn has not yet matured; similarly, the African identity in Cuba had not yet "popped" into full consciousness before slavery crushed it. 4. "El café con leche" (Coffee with milk) In Cuba, café con leche is a common breakfast drink. However, Guillén famously uses "coffee with milk" as a metaphor for racial mixing (white milk + black coffee). Here, the theft of his surname haunts even the most mundane, mixed-race daily rituals. Part 4: Thematic Analysis – Why "The Last Name" Matters The Violence of Erasure The poem treats the loss of a surname as a violent act. The speaker repeats "que me lo roben" (that they rob me of it) as a desperate protest. He compares the name to physical objects stolen off his body: a handkerchief, a ring, a piece of clothing. This personalization makes the historical crime of slavery feel immediate and intimate. The Mute Grandparents The most devastating images in the poem are the grandparents. They are "mute" because they were violently stripped of their language. When Guillén writes that their "tongues rotted in their mouths," he is referencing the linguistic genocide of enslaved Africans. They could not pass on their tribal surnames because they were forbidden to speak their native tongues (Lucumí, Kikongo, etc.). The Branding Iron Look at the line: "with a branding iron in hand / with an iron on the nape of their necks." Enslaved people were literally branded like cattle. Guillén argues that the branding iron replaced the surname. The slave owner’s last name (Guillén, López, Fernández) was the brand. The true African name was the one burned away. Repetition as a Weapon Stylistically, Guillén uses repetition not as decoration, but as a musical, almost drum-like incantation. The chorus "Que me roben el apellido" functions like a bolero or a son refrain. It forces the reader to sit with the pain until the phrase becomes unbearable. Part 5: "El Apellido" in the Context of Guillén’s Larger Work "El apellido" is part of Guillén’s collection La paloma de vuelto popular (The Pigeon of Popular Flight), published in 1958—just one year before the Cuban Revolution.

Oiganme, muchachos; que me roben el apellido; que me lo quiten, carajo, como una prenda, como un pañuelo, como un anillo. Ay, mis abuelos se quedaron mudos, se les pudrió la lengua en la boca y no dijeron nada. el apellido nicolas guillen english translation

¿Eh, ¿usted? Sí, yo. ¿Cómo dice? ¡Que me roben el apellido! That they are robbing me of my last name

Nicolás Guillén was born in Camagüey, Cuba, in 1902. His mixed-race heritage (African and Spanish) placed him in the complex racial hierarchy of early 20th-century Cuba. While Cuba had officially abolished slavery in 1886, systemic racism, cultural erasure, and economic disparity persisted. The word "Carajo" In the line "que me