A group of 20 children from America and Europe recited the poem “A Margarita Debayle” by Nicaraguan author Rubén Darío (1897-1916) in a video celebrating World Book Day. which took place yesterday in different countries.
The recital, which begins with the declamation of two children from Managua, makes a geographical and linguistic journey that jumps from America to Europe, from Nicaragua to Bolivia, passes through Haiti, touches other countries of Iberoamerica and strolls through Spain.
“Margarita, the sea is beautiful, and the wind carries a subtle essence of orange blossom; I feel a lark singing in my soul; your accent: Margarita, I’ll tell you a story,” declaimed the city, mestizo, and indigenous children in Cachiquel, Spanish, Catalan, Basque, French, Galician, Garífuna, Mapudungun, Miskito and Portuguese languages.
Each declamation, in addition to the sound of the languages, also shows cultural aspects, such as traditional clothing or their home, as well as a common feature: the joy of the children.
The commemorative video aims to “build bridges to literature, thanks to this chained reading, readers will be able to appreciate and hear different voices, accents and original languages from the different cultures of Ibero-America”, said the Festival Centroamérica Cuenta. who organizes the 2017 Cervantes Prize Sergio Ramírez, Nicaraguan writer in exile in Spain.
Children from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Spain, the USA, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua perform in the 4.25-minute video, including credits.
“A Margarita Debayle”, inspired by a Nicaraguan girl of the same name, is one of the most famous of Rubén Darío, the greatest exponent of literary modernism, considered the “prince of Castilian literature”.
Said poem, written in 1908, was published in 1909 in the book El viaje a Nicaragua e Intermezzo Tropical. It also inspired the title Margarita, the sea is beautiful, with which Sergio Ramírez won the Alfaguara Prize in 1998.
The video can be viewed on social networks with the hashtag #CACDiaDelLibro or by searching @cacuenta, on YouTube under the title “A Margarita Debayle” and on the Centroamérica Cuenta wall on Facebook.
