This is a metaphor for potential. The green corn has not yet matured; similarly, the African identity in Cuba had not yet "popped" into full consciousness before slavery crushed it.
My last name? The Spaniards gave it to me. (They were the first ones to give it to me.) But I don’t ask it of anyone, nor do I owe it to anyone. My last name is mine, mine, mine; but my grandparents did not give it to me — only the conquerors did. I carry it like someone carries a scar. And if anyone asks me for my last name, I tell them: — I have a last name, but I don’t know where it comes from. Could it be from some Black man of my blood? Could it be from some Congo, some Bantu? I don’t know. I only know that I am now named like those who stole my homeland from me. My last name? My true last name? The one the master took from me along with the chain and the whip? I lost it. I lost it like a ring lost in the sea. I lost it like a voice is lost. I lost it like the land is lost. I lost it. Oh, my lost last name, my last name stolen by the executioner, my last name! Will it return? Will it return one day? Will it return from the root of fallen trees? Will it return from the entrails of minerals? Will it return from the depths of rivers? Will it return from the night? Will it return from silence? Will it return from nothingness? Will it return from this very hatred that beats inside me and burns my guts? Oh, my last name! My last name! el apellido nicolas guillen english translation
He is famous for incorporating the "son"—a musical hybrid of Spanish and African elements—into written verse. This is a metaphor for potential
Transculturation in the Poetry of Nicolás Guillén - ucf stars The Spaniards gave it to me
Below is an English translation of key excerpts from the poem, along with a summary of its core themes.