de pie

English translation: I am the river \"standing strong\" or \"standing firm\"

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Spanish term or phrase:	de pie
English translation:	I am the river \"standing strong\" or \"standing firm\"
Entered by:	Jane Martin

16:46 Mar 9, 2022

Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature

Spanish term or phrase: de pie

I am translating Canto del Hombre de la Selva by Raúl Otero for a Spanish lesson I am teaching and am puzzled by the last line.

Yo soy un río de pie.

The whole verse is:

Yo soy el hombre de la selva,
perfume, cántico y amor
pero encendido de relámpagos,
pero rugiendo de huracanes.
Yo soy un río de pie.

Any thoughts?

The whole poem is here:

https://www.poeticous.com/raul-otero-reiche/canto-del-hombre...

Jane Martin KudoZ activity Questions: 227 (none open) (16 closed without grading) Answers: 628
Local time: 10:33

I am the river "standing strong" or "standing firm"

Explanation:
Poetry translation requires a high respect for musicality, meaning, and coherence with the rhythm the author intended to give to his composition. This strophe and this verse, because they are precisely at the end, are bearing all the weight in meaning as well as in musicality. Words, then, should be carefully chosen. Not an easy task, indeed.

Selected response from:

Alicia Chiesa-Repetto Ferrari
United States

Grading comment

Thank you
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +2

standing upright

Jennifer Levey

4 +1

standing (river)

neilmac

upright

Cecilia Gowar

I am the river "standing strong" or "standing firm"

Alicia Chiesa-Repetto Ferrari

standing wave river/river of standing waves

Barbara Cochran, MFA

River on edge

Simone Taylor

Summary of reference entries provided

O G V

Answers

6 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

standing upright

Explanation:
https://www.laregion.bo/escultor-gana-un-premio-inspirado-en...

The sculpture referred to in the webref looks (vaguely) like a stretch of river standing vertically.

Jennifer Levey
Chile
Local time: 05:33
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 20

14 mins confidence:

standing wave river/river of standing waves

Explanation:
I might go with this, to complement the use of phrases like "hombre de la selva", "encendido de relámpagos", and "rugiendo de huracanes".

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 05:33
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 103

1 hr confidence:

River on edge

Explanation:
I think it is a play with words with a pie del rio - riverside, edge of the river, so it could creatively be inverted in English to river on edge to demonstrate the rage he describes taking of hurricanes and lightning bolts.
Obviously, a river can't be on edge but it could be imagery associated with his rage.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/learner-english/...

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Note added at 1 hr (2022-03-09 18:00:36 GMT)
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https://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=a p...

Simone Taylor
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:33
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 28

20 mins confidence:

upright

Explanation:
I am an upright river.

Meaning dignified, honorable.

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Note added at 49 mins (2022-03-09 17:35:51 GMT)
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In accordance with this particular meaning of the expression ¨de pie/en pie¨:
3. loc. adv. Con permanencia y duración, sin destruirse, derogarse ni acabarse.
(taken from the RAE´s DLE).

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Note added at 2 hrs (2022-03-09 18:55:06 GMT)
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Thanks Jane.
We have a phrase in Spanish:
¨Es mejor/más vale morir de pie que vivir de rodillas¨.
I believe that is the idea in this case.

“Más vale morir de pie que vivir de rodillas”

Interpretación:
Es una frase que significa que es mejor vivir con dignidad, con libertad, sin ataduras que lo estén oprimiendo a uno, sin ser controlado por alguien, vivir como se debe, en absoluta libertad, crear un mundo bello en el cual se pueda vivir mejor.

shorturl.at/emqAO

Cecilia Gowar
United Kingdom
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 227

Notes to answerer

Asker: Hi Cecilia, thank you for this. I am sure, being poetry, it probably alludes to all the meanings offered but I think this one fits best with the rest of the poem.

17 hrs confidence:

I am the river "standing strong" or "standing firm"

Alicia Chiesa-Repetto Ferrari
United States
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Thank you

Notes to answerer

Asker: Hi Alicia, these answers work really well and take into account the poetic qualities of the language. Thank you.

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

standing (river)

Explanation:
At least, according to this version it is:
"... Raul Otero Reiche: “I am the man of the jungle, perfume, song and love, but lit by lightning, but roaring with hurricanes. I am a standing river. "

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Note added at 1 hr (2022-03-09 18:04:30 GMT)
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"Jhanisse Vaca Daza is co-founder of Ríos de Pie, a non-violent citizen movement focused on human rights and environmental rights in Bolivia. She is also Manager of the Freedom Fellowship at the Human Rights Foundation and Network Manager for the Oslo Freedom Forum. She began teaching nonviolence in Bolivia at the age of 23, which later led to the creation of a youth nonviolence movement: Ríos de Pie (Standing Rivers in English). "

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Note added at 1 hr (2022-03-09 18:05:21 GMT)
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The link I posted doesn't seem to work. I found it by running a search for "I am a standing river",

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Note added at 3 days 2 hrs (2022-03-12 19:07:38 GMT)
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Cf. Stepping Razor, a song by Peter Tosh.

https://jhanisse.com/2020/09/02/theres-no-love-for-santa-cruz-without-love-for-all-thats-green/

neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:33
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 155

Reference comments

6 days

Reference

Reference information:
Mi corazón es la colmena
y mi cerebro el hormiguero.
Vibran mis músculos de boa,
se abren cantando mis arterias.
Mis labios sangran en el grito de luz
y aroma del clavel.

Yo soy el hombre de la selva,
perfume, cántico y amor,
pero encendido de relámpagos,
pero rugiendo de huracanes.
Yo soy un río de pie.

Identificación total del cuerpo con la naturaleza

O G V
Spain
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 24

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de pie

English translation: I am the river \"standing strong\" or \"standing firm\"

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