Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

HUACO, by CESAR VALLEJO Poet Analysis Poet's Biography

The poem "Huaco" by César Vallejo offers a multi-layered perspective on identity, cultural heritage, and existential struggle, seamlessly blending historical and mythological references to illuminate the complexities of being. The term "huaco" refers to pre-Columbian pottery from the Andean region, and this ancient artifact serves as a metaphor that captures the essence of the poem: a rotating, complex structure containing multitudes within.

Vallejo starts by identifying himself as the "blind coraquenque," a reference to a sacred bird in Incan mythology, which looks "through the lens of a wound." The bird, usually associated with the sun and divine vision, is blinded here, capturing the irony and sorrow of a vision impaired by wounds-perhaps emblematic of the pains inflicted by history, colonization, or existential struggle. Being "tied to the Globe" signals the universal dimensions of these local wounds, connecting the individual to the broader currents of humanity and civilization.

The poem employs contrasting elements, "flame" and "foolishness," to underline the destructive capabilities of ignorance and shortsightedness. The flame is besieged by "hostile foolishness" attempting to "shear bugle wisps," which could be a metaphor for human potential and creativity being cut down by oppressive forces. The "bugle wisps" are "shiny with disgust" and "tanned from an old Yaraví," suggesting both a weariness from historic sadness and an indelible mark from culture and heritage.

In one line, Vallejo encapsulates the entire tragedy of colonization, referring to himself as "the condor chick plucked by a Latin harquebus." The condor is a symbol of freedom and power in Andean culture, while the harquebus is a type of gun used by European conquerors. This juxtaposition encapsulates the cultural, spiritual, and physical violence unleashed by colonization. Yet, despite this bleak landscape, there remains "a perennial Lazarus of light," an allusion to the Biblical figure resurrected by Jesus, suggesting an enduring hope or resurrection for humanity within the Andean context.

The "Inca grace that gnaws on golden coricanchas" refers to the lost grandeur of Incan civilization. Coricanchas were Incan temples, and their transformation-baptized "with phosphates of error and hemlock"-reflects the adulteration of native culture and spirituality due to colonial influences. The violent imagery of gnawing conveys a sense of loss and degradation but also of resistance and perhaps, redemption.

Vallejo concludes with a vivid evocation of the "broken nerves of an extinct puma," suggesting a latent strength or ferocity that can still rise up even from a defeated or extinct state. It's a "ferment of Sol; yeast of shadow and heart," an alchemy of contrasting elements-light and dark, spirit and flesh-that captures the essence of being.

"Huaco" is a poetic artifact as intricate and meaningful as the pre-Columbian pottery it is named after, embodying the swirling complexities of culture, history, and individual existence. It is Vallejo's tribute to his own multi-faceted identity and, by extension, a mirror held up to humanity's rich but often painful tapestry.

POEM TEXT:

I am the blind coraquenque

who looks through the lens of a wound,

and who is tied to the Globe,

like a wonderful huaco that rotates.

I am the flame, whom only

hostile foolishness reaches to shear

bugle wisps,

bugle wisps shiny with disgust

and tanned from an old Yaraví.

I am the condor chick plucked

by a Latin harquebus;