Poetry is written in Guanacaste. From the teenager experiencing that fierce first love to the elderly woman who paints internal, melancholic landscapes; from the tranquil shores of Lake Arenal in Tilarán to the wild waters of the Tempisque River.
The book “Territorios Eternos” (Eternal Territories) is overwhelming proof that the literary bug has bit people here.
Sixty-three authors, with or without literary experience, ranging in age from 15 to 94, and from different districts, brought to life this anthology, which breaks away from the folkloric, touristy and behind-the-times Guanacaste.
To Daniel Matul, a teacher who compiled the poems, the book is a political statement and an act of cultural insurgency.
“It’s proof that the voices included in [the anthology] don’t need external validation, because it produces its own knowledge, aesthetics and discourses. And in doing so, it not only enriches national literature, but also transforms it from its foundations,” he explains.
So what does this Guanacastecan poetry talk about?
Identities
Younger people between 15 and 35 are the ones who give voice to the first chapter, entitled “Identities.”
One of the pens that nourishes this segment is that of Edwin Sánchez, from La Cruz. He began writing poetry as a teenager thanks to motivation from his teachers at the La Cruz Experimental Bilingual High School, who encouraged him to write or gave him his first poetry books.
Although he works as a medical electronics engineer, he has never stopped writing poetry. One of his verses, written in English, describes the scenic beauty of La Cruz, the night and the volcanoes.
“It might have been impossible for me, growing up in San José, to have been able to feel that line and write it here. Because I grew up in Guanacaste, there are many elements that condense, are in you, and in one way or another, ultimately manifest themselves,” says Edwin.
“…Sundown
Moon coming on my back.
Venus starts the night.
Guitars start the ride.
Ehécatl touches my face.
La Cruz Huanacaxtle is complete…”
Utopias
The second part is written by people between the ages of 36 and 65. Mature voices that, according to professor Daniel Matul, speak of “the utopias of a province that has 200 years of aspirations and dreams.”
For a chapter that talks about desires and yearnings, perhaps there’s nothing better than a pen that writes from a dissident perspective, like that of Ronald Campos.
From a family in Tilarán and raised in this canton in the Guanacaste highlands, Ronald is a specialist in Spanish literature and literary theory. He has been writing for over 20 years, but since 2010, his research has focused much more on raising awareness about experiences between men: romantic, erotic, and mystical. In addition, his poetry also denounces hate crimes, violence against trans people and homophobia in Costa Rica and in other countries.
“We must reaffirm the fact that Guanacaste is not a single homogeneous identity, but rather that there are different identities. Since I started writing, I’ve asked myself, what place do dissident lives have? Do LGBTIQ people have recognition? More so in the province of Guanacaste. So here, too, there’s a political gesture in saying, ‘This is our reality, this is our validity,’” Campos comments.
According to Campos, a writer and literature professor at the University of Costa Rica, the country’s literary production and literary studies tend to focus on the Central Valley, and there’s a lack of awareness of what’s being produced in the outlying provinces.
“This anthology tells us in this way, in a voluminous way, that there is lyrical poetic production in Guanacaste; there’s a plurality that hasn’t been made visible, that hasn’t been looked into, that hasn’t been made known. And now there is no way to make it invisible, to deny it; we must know it, we must read it and disseminate it,” he expressed his opinion.
“…I left home avoiding
having to offer you, Father, forgiveness
for not being the man you expected,
a cane [to support you] in your work, in your old age,
for deciding to love another man…”
Roots
Guanacaste is a province with deep roots, and the people more than 66 years old who have written this segment speak with the authority that comes from being rooted to this land. But they don’t limit themselves to describing its landscapes or customs, talking about haciendas and tortillas.
72-year-old Ana Rita Apuy, from Cañas, prefers to talk about much more internal landscapes. Not so much about what happens in the countryside, but rather what those who live in the countryside feel.
“Sometimes, I feel that Guanacastecans deal with an internal suffering passed down from generation to generation, because it’s a constant struggle, from the land, from the cattle, from so much ingratitude that exists, I think, toward the region,” she says.
Ajoy recalls that she has been writing since she was little. She would look for a piece of paper, start writing and “something would come out.”
I think it’s not so much that I like it; it’s a necessity. Sometimes I wake up at two in the morning with an idea and I get to writing. Sometimes months go by without anything coming out; it’s like a desert; it’s something emotional,” she confesses.
Ana Rita adds that one of the book’s greatest contributions is bringing to light people who, like her, like to write and who have lived in anonymity.
“One day I built an altar
in my heart.
I invented a song to sing
on dark, lonely nights
with giant shells I once collected
on the vastness of the beach…”
Heritage
The final pages of the book are a tribute and recognition to those who have filled the province with lyrics and poetry for decades, such as Ofelia Gamboa, Guadalupe Urbina and Miguel Fajardo.
Cultural manager Ligia Zúñiga Clachar, from Liberia, is one of these honored poets. She began writing in the 1970s when she attended meetings of the Guanacaste Literary Center founded by Marco Tulio Gardela.
From that moment on, she began a relationship with poetry that hasn’t stopped. She has published three books of poetry: “Cielo Aparte” (Heaven Aside- 1990), “La última Cifra del Sol” (The Sun’s Last Figure- 2005), and “La llama del sol” (The Sun’s Flame- 2022).
“I touch on the social side of the world, for example: discrimination, wars, the metaphysical side of human beings. That moves me deeply for this planet to toughen up and end the injustice and the immense pain of so many people,” Zúñiga remarks.
“…Your land became a sponge
for foreign money,
extractors of your sap.
Rich woods flew away
without leaving nests, or young ones;
enriching the estates
of other hearths”
Poetry Epicenter
Poet Ligia Zúñiga, from Liberia, continues to be an active member of the Guanacaste Literary Center, which has been collecting and disseminating literature from the province for 51 years. This year, they are organizing the third edition of the Eternal Guanacaste Central American Poetry Festival with support from the University of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste campus.
The festival has hosted poets from Central America, Peru, and Mexico, and poetry readings have been organized in high schools in different cantons.
“There are very aware teachers in the different high schools who share this vision and are collaborating with us on these activities. Last year, we were able to get 1,630 young people from our province to listen to Central American poetry,” Zúñiga comments proudly.
This third edition of the festival will be held in commemoration of the 135th anniversary of the entire province of Guanacaste and will be a tribute to Professor Marco Tulio Gardela, who passed away in March of this year.
If you would like a copy of “Territorios Eternos,” you can call 8338-4237 or email [email protected].
Want more poetry?
In celebration of the Bicentennial of the Party of Nicoya’s Annexation to the country, UNED Publishing House published another poetry collection put together by writer Miguel Fajardo Corea called “Guanacaste: poesía entre siglos (1824-2024)” (Guanacaste: Poetry Between Centuries), which features 77 poets from its 11 cantons. You can get it here.
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