“Thank you is a very nice word”: how is Poniatowska’s 90th birthday, which she celebrated in a big way

It wouldn’t be a Mexican birthday without cakes and traditional songs The morning ‘, so these elements are present in national tribute Elenissima ‘, to writer Elena Poniatowska, held Thursday at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City.

The honored, author of Tinísima ‘Until I see you, my Jesus Y The night of Tlatelolco, He was the last to speak on this happy occasion, but his words served as an inspiration to all those present, including officials, politicians, colleagues and ordinary citizens, the latter to whom he has devoted a good part of his career.

“It’s great to be 90 years old now, it’s so nice to see you,” Poniatowska said on the stage of the palace theater where she danced to the rhythm of The morning ‘. The writer is wearing a new set of white pants and blouse, for the heat of spring. “I am so excited. Also here is my eldest Mane, my son Felipe, Paula, my only child, all my grandchildren and you who are also my grandchildren, all of you.

“Thank you is a very nice word and I tell you from here, from the bottom of my heart, ” Poniatowska said before the morning bells began to ring and she broke a piece of cake which she shared with the many attendees with slices served after the salute in the lobby of the palace.

Poniatowska offered the words to her great friends who had died, the Mexican writers Carlos Monsvais and Jose Emilio Pacheco. “I’m older than them, they should leave later, ” he said.” Right now I remember all the friends, and friends, who came before me and maybe they see us, hopefully. ”

Despite these heartfelt memories and the fact that the Palace of Fine Arts became the scene of funerals for great personalities such as Juan Gabriel, José José and Chavela Vargas, the living tribute to Poniatowska had relax and celebration atmosphere. The public has applauded and shouted applause for the writer since he came to the theater and he was very well accompanied by two friends who gave him beautiful speeches, the anthropologist Marta Lamas and the author María Teresa Priego.

“We say ‘we love you’ in Mexicanized Spanish that you chose, that of your mother. You chose Mexico, you chose us, how can we not thank you,” said Priego, emphasizing the smile “of the little rabbit teeth. “of the honored ..” You have revealed to me in an almost unforgivable way the lives of others. If I were a feminist, you would have made me worse … So many of us like to walk glued to your sneakers with violet ribbons, that we may be bold by the contagion. “

Hélène Elizabeth Louise Amélie Paula Dolores Poniatowska Love was born in Paris on May 19, 1932. His father, Jean E. Poniatowski, came from royal Poland and his mother, María de los Dolores Amor Escandón (known as Paula Amor), was the daughter of a wealthy Mexican family exiled after Porfiriato.

It started his career as a journalist socially, but he soon found his true vocation in stories about deep problems in Mexico, such as the students killed in the Tlatelolco massacre, the seamstresses killed in the 1985 earthquake or the population living in poverty. In 2013 he was awarded Cervantes Prizethe greatest recognition in Latin American literature.

“Perhaps the most amazing thing about Elena Poniatowska is the way she is he builds against what his destiny had reserved for him. Son of aristocrats, she discarded the deceptive greatness associated with that social stratum and people crowned her in a different way as a red princess, ” Lamas said.

“Undoubtedly, he is the most famous and beloved writer in Mexico, but the reason he is such a lovely figure is the way in which he casts the pride imposed by class distance to approach, which overflowing with love and respect, for all people without exception.of any kind.

“Thank you so much for what you wrote, but more than what you are and the way in which, by daring to show your wounds, you are helping us see us,” Lamas added.

The tribute includes videos with readings of Poniatowska’s works and dramatizations of several excerpts of her life, including her beginnings in journalism when she interviewed talented personalities such as Diego Rivera, Dolores del Río and Alfonso. Reyes; his memories of his early years in Mexico, the country where his family landed to flee World War II, which caused him to be separated from his father for four years; as well as her support of Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, mother seeker, activist and symbol of the lost in Mexico.

there is also musical numbers played by the Carlos Chávez School Orchestra and by alternate senator Jesusa Rodríguez, another friend of Poniatowska, who before she entered politics had developed her career as a singer and actress over decades. At the request of Poniatowska There were also choreographies of children and youth from the Creative Theater Seedbeds of the Mexican cities of Ecatepec, Tenancingo and Monclova.

The Secretary of Culture, Alejandra Frausto, and the head of the Mexico City government, Claudia Sheinbaum, both organizers of the tribute, as well as Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, deputies, senators and artists, were present at the ceremony.

“Thank you, dear Elena, princess who decided to walk the earth and become a journalist. Thank you for allowing us to celebrate your life, your reasons, your bright cases have made a letter that painted all over Mexico, ” Frausto said.

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