José Santos Chocano Gastañodi (14 May 1875 – 13 December 1934) was a Peruvian poet and political activist, whose work was widely praised across Europe and Latin America.
Translation: I am the aboriginal and savage singer of America; my lyre has a soul, my song has an ideal. My poetry does not swing from the branches With the slow movement of a tropical hammock.
Soy el cantor de América autóctono y salvaje: mi lira tiene un alma, mi canto un ideal. Mi verso no se mece colgado de un ramaje con un vaivén pausado de hamaca tropical.
Translation: Unmoving as a venerated idol Encased in dense links of steel Outlined against the water, sombre and transfixed Like some enchanted prince Held prisoner forever In the river’s crystal palace.
Inmóvil como un ídolo sagrado, ceñido en mallas de compacto acero, está ante el agua estático y sombrío, a manera de un príncipe encantado que vive eternamente prisionero en el palacio de cristal de un río.