Jotamario Arbeláez (1940 - )
Jotamario Arbeláez is the pen name of José Mario Arbeláez, a poet from Cali, Colombia. He is a member of the naidaísta (‘nothing’-ism) movement, a group of thirteen anti-establishment poets who helped revolutionise Colombian literature in the 1930s, despite having no common theme or style. They wanted to escape the limitations of conservative Colombian society.
Eduardo Escobar, a leading member, said: “ours was a reaction against a society that suffocated us, which impeded our thinking, our reading - even our love”. Jaime Jaramillo, who wrote under the pseudonym X-504, explained that “We were witness to the wars between the Conservatives and Liberals and saw how many people died because of this idiocy… We were against archaic ideas of thinking and acting, we were young and ignorant, we wanted to change society!”
Arbeláez’s poetry reflects on morality and features political themes that are critical of contemporary Colombian society and also include some black humour. The style is often direct and prosaic, with a powerful rhythm and irregular rhyming patterns. The two selected poems below, Después de la Guerra (After the War) and Poema de Invierno (Rain Poem) explicitly deal with a range of themes including: conflict, love, hope, death, despair, family, the power of knowledge, and nature.
After the War
a day
after the war
if there is a war
if after the war there is a day
I will hold you in my arms
a day after the war
if there is a war
if after the war there is a day
if after the war I have arms
and I will make love to you with love
a day after the war
if there is a war
if after the war there is a day
if after the war there is love
and if there is what it takes to make love
translated by Nicolás Suescún from Spanish
Después de la Guerra
un día
después de la guerra
si hay guerra
si después de la guerra hay un día
te tomaré en mis brazos
un día después de la guerra
si hay guerra
si después de la guerra hay un día
si después de la guerra tengo brazos
y te haré con amor el amor
un día después de la guerra
si hay guerra
si después de la guerra hay un día
si después de la guerra hay amor
y si hay con qué hacer el amor
Rain Poem
All my childhood it rained.
The tall women in the family
fluttered between the wires
taking out the clothes. And sweeping
towards the patio
the water that flooded the rooms.
We put washbowls and chamber pots
to gather the dripping of the leaks
and when they overflowed we emptied them in the drain.
We went about barefoot with our pants rolled up,
all of our shoes protected on a shelf.
Mother rushed to the living room with a sheet of plastic
to cover the encyclopaedia.
The light of the flashes of lightning came through the roof.
Under the flood from the sky
my grandmother lit a candle stub
and her prayers did not let it go out.
The electricity went off all night.
I was lucky enough to have a rubber raincoat
my father made for me
to be able to go to school
without my notebooks getting wet.
I wore out shoes by just putting them on.
One day the sun came out.
My father was already dead.
translated by Nicolás Suescún from Spanish
Poema de Invierno
Llovió toda mi infancia.
Las mujeres altas de la familia
aleteaban entre los alambres
descolgando la ropa. Y achicando
hacia el patio
el agua que oleaba a los cuartos.
Aparábamos las goteras del techo
colocando platones y bacinillas
que vaciábamos al sifón cuando desbordaban.
Andábamos descalzos remangados los pantalones,
los zapatos de todos amparados en la repisa.
Madre volaba con un plástico hacia la sala
para cubrir la enciclopedia.
Atravesaba los tejados la luz de los rayos.
A la sombra del palo de agua
colocaba mi abuela un cabo de vela
y sus rezos no dejaban que se apagara.
Se iba la luz toda la noche.
Tuve la dicha de una impermeable de hule
que me cosió mi madre
para poder ir a la escuela
sin mojar los cuadernos.
Acaba zapatos con solo ponérmelos.
Un día salió el sol.
Ya mi padre había muerto
ACTIVITY
Write a poem in the naidaísta style reflecting on the end of the conflict.