Thank you, Sr. Azuela

A year or so ago, I did some volunteer translation for Bolivian poet and gentleman, Sr. Francisco Azuela. Although born in Mexico, he now lives in the heart of the cordillera of the Andes where he writes and performs humanitarian work. The works that I translated are from his collection La Palabra Ardiente or The Ardent Word, and they feature two different selections of poems: Mayars and Aztecals, both of which pursue themes of life, love and death in the backdrop of ancient Mexican culture. In exchange for my spirit of volunteerism, Sr. Azuela agreed to make a donation to a local AIDS charity in Bolivia. A few weeks later, he sent me an email in which he gave me the rights to publish on CD the collection of The Ardent Word in a trilingual edition (Spanish, French, English) with illustrations. I spent a good bit of time last year arranging illustrations for all forty of the poems and have completed all of the artistic collaboration for the project. All proceeds from the sale of this CD will be donated to an international AIDS charity, but first I have to find a publisher to produce the CDs. This has proven to be a difficult task.

Yesterday afternoon, I received a copy of a book on CD from Sr. Azuela. Entitled Pequeña Antología Poética: Un Recorrido Interminable 1972-2006, this CD includes a beautiful compilation of images, music, commentary and poems from the life of Francisco Azuela. Among the poems, there are translations from the original Spanish into English, French, Portuguese, German and Aymara, including my own translations! I was very pleased to see that my translations had been included.

This anthology is available through ISBN number 99905-0687-6 and was made possible by the French Embassy in Bolivia. Sr. Azuela’s gift has inspired me again to continue seeking a publisher for the AIDS charity CD.

Categories: poetry HIV/AIDS fundraiser Francisco+Azuela