Poetry
Musa callejera
Not translated into English
Guillermo Prieto · 1883
Synopsis
“National festive poems” signed Fidel: verse sketches of the popular life of Mexico City, reworkings of folklore themes, satirical songs and occasional pieces. The poet makes the language of the street and its people heard, markets, festivals and neighbourhood quarrels, and mingles with it the political chronicle of his time, down to the battle hymns of the liberal army.
Context
The volume appeared in 1883 in Mexico City from the printer Filomeno Mata, who gathered pieces published in the press over several decades; a first series under this title already appeared in the Versos inéditos of 1879. Textual criticism now sees in it an anthology put together by the publisher rather than a closed book, and the author went on writing “musas callejeras” almost until his death. The edition by Francisco Monterde, in 1971, fixed the most widely read text.
Who it is for
Short pieces in the popular language, for which modern editions provide a glossary; no French or English translation.
Prizes and reception
His best-known book, regarded as a treasure of Mexican popular tradition.
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