This presentation explores Maya poet Marga Beatriz Aguilar Montejo’s book of poetry “U JUUM U T’AAN KOOLNAAL/ The Voice of the Campesino,” with an emphasis on the title poem. This poem is simultaneously a manifestation of the voice of the campesino and a reflection about the role of voice and words in the author’s experience as a Maya woman poet. Drawing on works by Maya poets and literary critics, this project will follow the voice of the campesino not only through its symbolic transformation within the poem, but also through its historical transformation through colonialism and suppression of Maya literature, to the contemporary resurgence of literary workshops and poetry publications. In addition to my analysis of the poem, I will also translate it from Spanish to English and trace the transformation of the voice of the campesino by creating a hand-drawn animation exploring the voice’s various forms and meanings as it metamorphoses through time and space. Translating the poem to both visual and oral language will enhance the expression of the imagery, rhythm, and movement of the poem, showing just how alive the voice of the campesino truly is.
