Texas Tech University
Phase 4
Translation Process
Translator: Rebeca Perez
Dr. Curtis Bauer
ENGL 3341-D01
December 2, 2023
Note From the Translator
I went in search of a writer that enticed me on an emotional level; a writer that I felt was conveying an important notion regarding the numerous thoughts and feelings humans experience as a result of life itself. As such, one of the main reasons the Mexican poet Guadalupe (Pita) Amor appealed to me was because her poems sound so raw and sincere in the Spanish language; like she is pouring out her soul on paper to legitimize her feelings and views, which often contradict the public sentiment. She dedicates an entire series of poems to God where she questions his existence and pokes fun at her unusual ideas. I find that this type of writing, the type that doesn’t shy away from difficult or taboo topics that most would steer clear of, is often the one that leaves a lasting impression in the minds of those who go in search of life’s many mysteries and overall purpose.
While there is only limited information regarding Amor’s personal life available to the public, what is known about her illustrates just how constricted the lives of women were in the middle of the twentieth century. Her poetry is easily considered some of the best work to come out of Mexico, yet Pita Amor was primarily recognized for her constant scandals in large part due to “the stigma associated with her as a symbol of decadence and eccentricity generated by her resolve not to follow customary practices of women in Mexico, a legacy that today, more than ever, weighs heavily on her and her poetic work” (Schuessler).
Pita Amor was one of Mexico City’s most controversial poets and writers of her time due to her spirited mannerisms and non-conventional lifestyle choices, which often clashed with what society viewed as acceptable in the mid-1950s. Despite people’s critical views of her, she chose to tackle some of the most taboo subjects known to mankind, such as questioning the existence of God in a primarily Catholic culture, which she then openly shared with the world.
Is there reason to believe that certain local events during that time induced her to publish poems of this nature? Were these polemic topics the reason that up to this day and age, Amor’s written works remain virtually unknown to most people?
In an attempt to understand what could have driven Amor to write these poems she called “Decimas a Dios” or “Poems to God,” it was important to consider some of the significant events happening in Mexico around the time that these works were being written. One noteworthy incident was a disaster that occurred in Amor’s very own hometown of Mexico City on February 21, 1953, when two trams “collided head-on on the suburban La Venta Line” (Morrison). This event caused 63 deaths and several other injuries, which traumatized the nation. One can’t help but wonder if this national tragedy prompted some of Amor’s “Poems to God” given that she questioned her inability to believe in God’s existence because of her surroundings – what she could and could not physically see. “XV” from “Decimas a Dios” had Amor declare that she felt that God only existed in “an empty hollow of anguish inside of her,” since He refused to show himself elsewhere (Avila). The negative reactions that Amor received during her lifetime may have been the inspiration for so many of her ruminations about God. She states in one of her poems that “it is not after death that God is necessary, but rather in the daily hell that is life, that it is a true miracle to have him present” (Vázquez Ramírez).
It is worth noting that along with having been a prominent figure in the Mexican suffrage movement for women, which occurred when “the Mexican Congress approved the reformation of the 1917 constitution whereby the women of Mexico would be permitted to vote in national elections,” one of the main reasons that Amor was seen as a contentious female of her time was because of the friendships and relations she kept with other controversial individuals, most of whom were men (Morton). Two notable names in that category were Pablo Neruda and Diego
Rivera, the latter having painted a nude Amor around four times. Clearly, Amor felt an intrinsic need to live her life to the fullest without any regard for what society considered proper behavior for women.
Though Amor was considered extreme for her time and was at times criticized for her unconventional style and behavior, her demeanor changed drastically after the death of her infant son. She became a recluse due to her grief and her writing came to a halt. I found this quite interesting because often when writers are consumed by grief or experience some type of traumatic event, they immerse themselves into their work even more, but this was not the case for Amor at all. While I think it is a shame that the world was deprived of more of her writing, I do understand that people cope with grief in different ways.
As for why Pita Amor’s work called out to me, I felt deeply moved by her earnest way of speaking to God despite her inability to fully believe he existed. Oddly enough, I am the opposite of Amor in the sense that I wholeheartedly believe in the existence of God and his omnipotence. However, like Amor, I am constantly questioning why things happen, which I feel may be one of the reasons why Amor was hesitant to embrace the belief in God. I believe the things that made Amor doubt in God, are the very things that solidify his very existence to me, which further compelled me to translate her work.
In addition to appealing to me on an emotional level, I felt that translating Amor’s work was important because while she was well known during her time, her work is not very prominent to today’s readers. She is often referred to as “Mexico’s greatest and most ignored poet of the first part of the 20th century.” This is very disappointing considering I feel her poems would resonate very closely with a large portion of people worldwide, religious, or not. Everyone has the right to their own opinion when it comes to what they choose to believe, and I
feel that Amor’s poems adequately convey the varying thoughts, questions, and ideas that one faces throughout their lifetime, especially during turbulent times. I felt it was of the utmost importance that Amor’s poetry was translated in a way that would convey what she was feeling in her innermost being. By having some background regarding Amor’s personal life and some of the most significant events of her region while she was writing these “Decimas a Dios,” I endeavored to interpret the meaning, or rather the intention of what Amor was trying to share with her readers.
When embarking on this translation project, I knew I wanted to choose an author who would incite a genuine curiosity about a topic of great significance to me, which led me to discover the wonderful poems by Amor. This discovery made me recognize just how little the world outside of Mexican society knows about such a brilliant poet, which prompted me to take on the challenge of translating her poetry This considerable task in translation was not an easy one for several reasons, including deciphering the possible context of her poems, overcoming biases, as well as trying to understand when Amor was talking in a literal or figurative sense of the world around her.
During the translation process, I had to keep in mind what is mentioned in Chapter 8 of David Bellos’ book, Is That a Fish in Your Ear?, where he talks about the fact that “translation is meaning,” so long as the context is available, as well as acknowledging the common issue of “imperfect matching” between languages (Bellos 87). Despite being fluent in Spanish and English, I found that some parts of the text could not be interpreted with a single word from one language to the next, which is exactly what Bellos was trying to say regarding the “imperfect matching” of words. I ended up needing to use different terminology in some poems to accurately transmit the emotions being communicated by Amor.
My approach to translation was like sorting through the author’s emotional and cognitive archives to locate and then render my findings of their most intimately penned words to an audience they wished to reach. I had to learn to bypass my personal bias of my native Spanish and interpret the true connotation of Amor’s writing. A good example of this problem area for me can be seen in the second poem from Amor’s “Yo Soy Mi Casa,” where she states:
Escaleras sin peldaños mis penas son para mí, cadenas de desengaños, tributos que al mundo dí.
When reading this verse in Spanish, it is so easy for me as a native Spanish speaker to feel emotionally attached to Amor’s words and the almost woeful longing it denotes. Yet when translating this into English, I found myself disappointed in the lack of sentiment I sense from reading the following:
Rungless ladders my sorrows are to me, chains of disillusionment tributes that to the world I bequeathed. Now this did not mean that the translation was incorrect. It simply meant that my attachment to the Spanish language, this poem, and its words, essentially overhauled the English translation. This issue that I encountered during my translation process can be traced back to the words of David Bellos where he emphasizes what many translators encounter when they think a translated text doesn’t flow or doesn’t sound right. Bellos states that “the ineffable is precisely what cannot be translated” (Bellos 151). In other words, since I felt attached to my “mother tongue” and the sentiments that are triggered when reading Amor’s poem in that language, I was more prone to
be biased toward things originally stated in Spanish and I was inclined to feel “put off” by its translation into any other language.
Another problem area I encountered while translating Amor’s poems was having to figure out the right terms to use in English that would correctly convey her thoughts for that text, especially when the literal translation of something like “redonda” is “round” but I felt represented the idea of perfection, completion, or whole, so long as the appropriate context is given. In the first poem of “Yo soy mi casa,” Amor uses some words in what I believe can be two different ways, which is where it got very confusing for me. The Spanish text reads as follows:
Y de ese ambiente redondo, redondo por negativo, mi corazón salió herido y mi conciencia turbada. Un recuerdo mantenido: redonda, redonda nada.
While I initially felt that Amor wasn’t talking about the literal word “round”, based on previous context, I assumed she meant to denote something being complete, or perfect, given that something round comes full circle. However, the more I analyzed the poem and after various conversations with my language informant, I concluded that it would not do the poem justice to remove the literal word “round” in the translation, given that Amor repeatedly used the word in the original text. The second line of this particular verse of the poem then uses the word “negativo” which translates into “negative.” Still, the context of the poem needed a word that better served the idea of loneliness or solitude. The translated text reads:
And from that well-rounded home, Round for its pessimism, my heart was left wounded and my conscience perturbed. A lasting memory remains:
Round, round emptiness.
Though the literal translation was “negative,” I found that the word “emptiness” better conveyed Amor’s intended meaning of that word. All in all, knowing when to switch between translating in a literal sense versus a more figurative one was definitely a challenge at times, but as I continued translating, it became more noticeable and somewhat easier to detect when I could, or should, go for a figurative translation based on context.
Towards the end of my translation process, I discussed the poems with my language informant, which was my mother, Teresa De Jesus Perez Garza. I felt my mother was the ideal person for this task for a multitude of reasons. She is a native of Mexico, born in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, she travels extensively to primarily Spanish-speaking countries and is very wellversed in a variety of Spanish idioms due to these travels. In addition to this, her deep love of poetry and outspoken nature made me feel confident that she would provide a genuine understanding of the work that I would be translating. This proved to be true for the poems we discussed, but it didn’t go without some differing opinions between us since there were some contextual nuances my language informant and I disagreed on. The main thing I found we differed on was when to keep the literal translation versus the figurative. My informant felt that the literal words were necessary in most cases, whereas I only felt they were needed in certain poems.
On a more personal note, this project has been highly rewarding for me because I have learned the many nuances that come with translating someone’s work into a different language. I’ve seen firsthand how difficult and time-consuming it can be to attempt to decipher what another person intended with their words. I have taken into consideration and greatly appreciate the comments of my professor, Dr. Curtis Bauer, and all my classmates, which I have
implemented as best I could without forfeiting what I felt was a faithful depiction of what Amor meant to convey in her poems. While I am immensely pleased by the positive feedback I received from my peers for the initial translation drafts I submitted for the class workshop, I personally feel that it would take me just a bit longer to get Amor’s poems to a place where I would feel comfortable publishing them, which would be a wonderful privilege! I understand now why one of our guest speakers in class, Vlora Konushevci, mentioned that translating something could take her several months. I have learned invaluable information about the translation process with this project and have a newfound respect for all who embark on this worthwhile profession.
I am hopeful that providing this context on Pita Amor’s life, as well as my personal translation process has allowed me to do a faithful and gratifying translation of some of Amor’s most introspective poetry, and in doing so, do justice to what she hoped to leave behind in the world in her decima “XLIII” where she hoped for what translates into, “that [her - Amor] existence have some meaning, and that [her] final heartbeat be echoed throughout eternity” (Osegueda).
Avila, Rebeca. “Pita Amor, La Undécima Musa Que Invocó a Dios Con Su Poesía.” Gaceta 22, Televisión Metropolitana , gacetaamigos.canal22.org.mx/gaceta22_186/El_librero_pitaamor.html. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
Bellos, David. Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translations and the Meaning of Everything. Faber & Faber, 2011.
“Guadalupe Amor; Popular, Outrageous Mexican Poet.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2000, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-may-15-me-30365-story.html.
Morrison, Allen. “The Tramways of Mexico City.” The Tramways of Mexico City: Part 4, Allen Morrison, 2003, www.tramz.com/mx/mc/mc75.html.
Morton, Ward M. “Woman Suffrage in Mexico.” Duke University Press, Duke University Press, 1965, read.dukeupress.edu/hahr/article/45/1/164/159015/Woman-Suffrage-in-Mexico.
Osegueda, Rodrigo. “Pita Amor, La Sor Juana Del Siglo XX Que Ha Sido Despreciada y Olvidada.” México Desconocido, g21 Comunicación, 3 Jan. 2022, www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/pita-amor.html.
Schuessler, Michael K. “Guadalupe Amor.” Enciclopedia de La Literatura En México, Fundación para las Letras Mexicanas A.C., 31 Aug. 2018, www.elem.mx/autor/datos/46.
Vázquez Ramírez, Roberto. “Dios a Través de Los Ojos de Pita Amor .” La Gaceta Del CUSUR, Centro Universitario del Sur, 30 Jan. 2023, gaceta.cusur.udg.mx/dios-a-traves-de-los-ojosde-pita-amor/.