The iconic novel by the famous Mexican writer Juan Rulfo, “Pedro Páramo,” will be presented in Guaraní soon, thanks to a joint effort by the Secretariat of Linguistic Policies (SPL), the National Secretariat of Culture (SNC) and the Embassy of Mexico in Paraguay.
The translation, carried out by the renowned Paraguayan poet and translator Susy Delgado, marks a milestone in Paraguayan literature as it brings one of the most emblematic works of magical realism and Latin American boom to an indigenous language of great importance in the region.
The achievement of the translation was possible after the SPL’s successful efforts before the Carmen Balcells Literary Agency, an entity that represents the copyright of the Mexican writer. This Guaraní version will allow a wider audience to enjoy this classic work, which has been praised for its deep connection to popular speech and its aesthetic wealth.
In this regard, Susy Delgado said: “The aim is to offer a novel that constitutes a poetic monument to Mexican Spanish, a novel built with the clay of the talk of the people, modeled and brought to its maximum aesthetic possibilities, a linguistic and literary bridge with all the potential of the Guaraní.”
The translator stressed the importance of transferring the work to the Guaraní, pointing out: “With the tongue of arrival, the Guaraní, it is necessary to invest the best effort to say that unparalleled Pedro Páramo with a different music, emerging from a millennial and singular culture that at its moment of greatest splendour spread in a wide region of South America.”
The SPL stressed that this initiative is a valuable contribution to the Guaraní language, the majority in Paraguay, and a key contribution to its process of standardization and standardisation in the different areas of society.
The project, which is also supported by the Paraguayan Academy of the Spanish Language and the Guaraní Language Academy, includes introductory studies by the writer Bernardo Neri Farina and linguist Domingo Aguilera. The publication of the novel, by the publisher Rosalba, will be announced soon, generating great expectation in the cultural and literary field of the country.
