The songs of Cuban troubadour Silvio Rodriguez moved today to those attending a concert in his tribute as part of the fifteenth international meeting Poetry at Paralelo Cero, taking place in Ecuador.
The director of the festival, Xavier Oquendo, recalled the reasons why they decided to award the Cuban singer-songwriter the Poet of Two Hemispheres Award 2023, an award that Latin American writers presented to him personally in Havana in October.
Before a full auditorium at the national headquarters of the Ecuadorian House of Culture, Oquendo highlighted on Monday night the literary values of the lyric created by Silvio, which he described as having an «exceptional narrative beauty.»
Ecuadorians Holger Merizalde, David Bonilla and Diego Cazar, Margarita Laso, Jorge Castillo, Pancho Prado, and Sebastián Torres, as well as Cuban Aurora Feliú, were in charge of bringing to this city in the middle of the world the music of one of the most distinguished representatives of the Cuban Nueva Trova.
Those present -connoisseurs of his work- joined the artists to sing well-known pieces such as Óleo de una mujer con sombrero, Ángel para un final, Venga la esperanza, Oh, melancolía, Quién fuera, Sólo el amor, among others.
The evening culminated with a joint choir from the audience and the singers performed together the song Ojalá, one of the best-known songs in the repertoire of the man who is considered a cult of popular poetry in the Spanish language.
As part of the meeting Poesía en Paralelo Cero, the book «Letras de Silvio» was presented, an anthology of the house El Angel Editor that gathers more than 150 songs of the honored author.
The event, which will last until next Saturday, November 25, will be attended by some 80 poets from different countries in the Americas and Europe, who will participate in reading tables in schools, cultural centers, auditoriums, and other venues to promote this literary genre.
Poesía en Paralelo Cero reaches its 15th edition and reaffirms itself as one of the most relevant festivals of its kind in Latin America.
