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LibreOrganize 0.6.0 - Documentation

The Poet and Pol Who Shaped México’s President

Carlos Pellicer, an early influence on AMLO in their native state of Tabasco, became a nationally known patriotic poet and political activist. The young Pellicer studied in México City with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco and later founded the Grupo Solidario del Movimiento Obrero. He would go on to help open several museums, including one honoring the work of Frida Kahlo. In 1976 Pellicer began representing Tabasco in the Mexican Senate. He died, at age 80, in 1977.

Diego Rivera, Portrait of Carlos Pellicer, 1942

Translator's note: For our English language readers, we are presenting this poem by Carlos Pellicer in its original Spanish. Translating poetry is an art best undertaken by poets profoundly familiar with cultural nuances in both languages.

 

La Bandera Mexicana

La bandera mexicana
— verde, blanca y roja —

en sus colores aloja

la Patria en flor soberana.

Cuando en las manos tenemos

nuestra bandera,

es como tener entera

agua, naves, luz y remos.

 

Cuando alzamos sus colores,

siente nuestro corazón

la dicha de una canción

que se derrama en flores.

 

Por amor a mi bandera,

les digo a todos “hermano.”

El que la lleve en la mano

lleva la paz donde quiera.

 

Paz, trabajo, amor, y fe

son de mi bandera el cielo.

Yo quiero, por todo anhelo,

digno de ella estar al pie.