Heritage poetry: Villa de San Fernando de Tinguiririca
In both book and photographic exhibition, Villa de San Fernando de Tinguiririca: Poesía Patrimonial is a blend of colors and words, produced by six local poets and an audiovisual artist. It presents thirty-six poems and thirty-eight photographs in nomadic exhibition, walking the reader through colleges, theaters, houses of culture, libraries and ventures of the elderly.
This book of heritage poetry addresses the task of six poets of San Fernando, summoned to write about six heritage monuments:
Casa Patronal Fundo Lircunlauta
Iglesia y Claustro San Francisco
Capilla Hijas de la Caridad San Vicente de Paul
Liceo Neandro Schilling
Cárcel de San Fernando, and
Huellas de Dinosaurios.
History, ideas and sources are revealed by these poets. One such example presents a poem by Luis Faúndez, a professor who suffered imprisonment and torture during the Chilean dictatorship. The descriptions are, at times, difficult to consume, yet as my friend Jorge points out, there is poetry in these words.
I am proud of my friend, Jorge Antonio Albornoz Figueroa, and his fellow poets, who captured these monuments in time. Other poets include Jeniffer Argomedo Hodgkinson, Sergio Terán Cortez, Vylma Rosales Solís de Ovando, Luis Faúndez Roa (Lufaro) and Elina Torres Verdugo.
Across opening pages, I cherish the salutation from friend Jorge, Poeta, Gestor Cultural Presidente, Centro de Extensión Cultural LibreArte which reads: "Para el poeta Jason Guest. Este libro con poesía patrimonial de San Fernando. Jorge Albornoz Figueroa. La Serena, Octubre 24 de 2018."
While San Fernando may suffer the scars of earthquakes and political oppression, its memory will not be erased thanks to the determination of these writers. Their efforts are good for Sanfernandina poetry, for its citizens and as testimony for future generations.
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