Mexico marks Octavio Paz anniversary

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Octavio Paz, the Nobel Prize-winning Mexican poet, writer and diplomat.

It would be difficult to overstate Paz's impact on Mexican culture, politics and thought in the second half of the 20th century. His landmark work, "The Labyrinth of Solitude," a lyrical, book-length reflection on Mexican identity, remains a classic. His resignation of his ambassadorship to India, to protest the Tlatelolco massacre of Mexican protesters by government troops before the start of the 1968 Olympics, and his subsequent public denunciations of the government, helped to open a crack in the Institutional Revolutionary Party's power monopoly, which eventually would lead to a more democratic, pluralistic Mexico.

The anniversary is being marked here in Mexico City with a variety of activities, including conferences, radio programs and a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra. In tribute, La Plaza offers one of Paz's poems, characteristically marked by its elegant simplicity, depth of feeling and quiet, hopeful aspiration for the individual, and for all mankind.

Hermandad                                              Brotherhood

Homenaje a Claudio Ptolomeo             Homage to Claudius Ptolemy

Soy hombre: duro poco                           I am a man: little do I last

y es enorme la noche.                             and the night is enormous.

Pero miro hacia arriba:                             But I look up:

las estrellas escriben.                             the stars write.

Sin entender comprendo:                       Unknowing I understand:

tambien soy escritura                             I too am written,

y en este mismo instante                        and at this very moment

alguien me deletrea.                                someone spells me out.

Translated from the Spanish by Eliot Weinberger. Octavio Paz: Collected Poems, copyright 1987, 1988, by Octavio Paz and Eliot Weinberger.

-- Reed Johnson in Mexico City