Retranslating Nezahualcoyotl
Nezahualcoyotl, king of Tetzcohco (Texcoco), was one of the founders of the Triple Alliance of Anahuac (Aztec Empire). Perhaps one of the most brilliant minds of Mesoamerica, Nezahualcoyotl stood out as a statesman, engineer, philosopher, and, above all, poet.
The poet-king’s face appears on Mexico’s 100-peso bill, along with one of his poems in Spanish. We don’t have the original Nahuatl of that piece, but many have attempted to recreate what it might have been.
Here’s the poem in English, Spanish, and my own Classical Nahuatl rendition.
English (my translation):
I love the song of the mockingbird,
bird of four hundred voices;
I love the color of jade
and the drowsy perfume of flowers;
but more than these, I love
my fellow human beings.
Spanish (from Mexico’s 100-peso bill):
Amo el canto del cenzontle,
pájaro de cuatrocientas voces;
amo el color del jade
y el enervante perfume de las flores,
pero más amo a mi hermano;
el hombre.
My Classical Nahuatl “re-translation” of this famous poem by Nezahualcoyotl:
nictlazohtla īcuīc in centzontlahtōleh…
