El Hijo Favorito de Chile – Chile’s Favorite Son

Pablo Neruda is a figure larger than life in Chile and throughout the world en todo el mundo).  A Nobel Prize winner in Literature, he was a celebrated poet whose works have stood the test of time and tank among the greatest in poetry (el mas grane in la poesía) alongside Walt Whitman, Edgar Allen Poe and contemporarily, Jack Kerouac.  He was a diplomat, a revolutionary, a thinker, a politician and above all, a legend (una leyenda).

Pablo Neruda was a force of nature (una fuerza de la naturaleza), much like the themes of the sea and of love that he captured so beautifully in his poetry.  Growing up near Isla Negra and using this setting as a focus throughout his works, the crashing waves, the rolling seas, the pounding wind (el viento fuerte) and the lonesome seafarer’s call were all part of his allure and grandeur.  His poetry (su poesía) is said to be best read aloud, to hear the eloquence of the language within a rhythmic beat of nature’s strength and fury.

Neruda also had three houses (tres casas) in Chile, and he also had three wives (tres esposas) within his life.  It is said that he had the 3 homes, one for each wife, but in reality, this represents 3 distinct phases (tres fases distintas) of a Chilean, one of the port, one of the city and one of the sea.  The home in Valparaíso sits high atop the hills, with a beacon’s view of the city and seaside below, a nest (un nido) high atop a perch. The home in Santiago is near Cerro San Cristobal in the Bella Vista district, an area of art and culture, with a spirit of Neruda guiding its beat.  The home in Isla Negra is set directly facing the rocky shores of the Pacific, with its open design (diseño abierto) and confrontational seaside stance, it calls to the ocean in an almost worshipping manner.

I have been to see the 3 homes of Pablo Neruda, and I have read his poetry with great joy.  Not only is his legend large in Chile, his impact (su impacto) extends throughout the world. The spirit of Neruda is like that of Kerouac, of Twain and of Whitman, someone bringing the calling from within to those of us on the outskirts of genius (un genio), so that we can all be enriched and grow in knowledge and understanding from the artist’s works (las obras del artista).