“Ruben Dario!” The quick response one can expect to hear
from any Nicaraguan when asked who the country’s greatest poet is.
“ummm… Dr. Seuss?” A response you’d likely
get from the same question to an American.
But why?
Poetry gets to the heart of what it means
to be Nicaraguan. At every level of
school poems are read, learned, and performed by students. Many can still recite some of their favorites
years later including Enlace Project’s very own Yacarely Mairena who shared a
poem with visiting SUNY Geneseo students during a class on poetry.
In keeping with this cultural tradition of
poetry, Enlace Project English students worked for weeks on poems of their own
to be presented at the first (annual?!) Enlace Project Poetry Slam on June 18th. In front of an audience of over 50 people as
well as a panel of 5 judges, twelve students from both the primary and
secondary level English classes showcased their works. Poems embraced a wide variety of topics from
the beauty of motherhood to emotional defenses of the environment.
Amazed Geneseo students in attendance
remarked that they couldn’t believe how expressive students were in a second
language, with many readily admitting they didn’t feel capable of producing
such strong poems themselves. Such is
the impact of poetry in Nicaragua where everyone is born with the heart of a
poet.
The remainder of the evening was spent
enjoying all things quintessentially Nicaraguan for dinner (gallo pinto, plantains,
and queso frito) and laughter filled conversation between Geneseo students and
the aspiring poets. Enlace Project is
proud to help facilitate these types of intercultural exchange and will
continue to embrace them as an important part of our mission.
Written by Patrick McCormick, 2015-16 Intern
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