Instituto Cervantes holds an exhibit on the Spanish literary icon, available for viewing at their Intramuros outpost. Read on below to find out more about the exemplary poet, his life and passions, and why he’s a must-read:
An iconic figure in 20th century Spanish literature, Miguel Hernández’s life and works find a home in the international exhibit entitled, Miguel Hernandez, a plena luz. Now on display at the Instituto Cervantes in Intramuros from July 25 to September 16, Filipinos get a chance to rediscover Hernandez and his influential works.
As a young shepherd boy from the province of Orihuela, Spain, Miguel began writing poems about his hometown and the idyllic sights that coloured his day to day life. At an early age, he displayed a sophisticated control of language and ideology, easily observable in one of his early works named, Me. My mother,.
He writes, “Enferma, agotada, empequeñecida por los grandes trabahos, las grandes privaciones y las injusticias grandes, ella me hace exigir y procurer con todas mis fuerzas una justicia, una alegría, una vida nueva para la mujer / Ill, exhausted, made small by great works, the great deprivations and the great injustices, she makes me demand and strive, with all my strength, for justice, for joy, for a new life for women.” Here, he muses upon the hardships of women through his own mother’s experience and what he perceived to be her internal suffering.
