Monday, March 10, 2008

Today’s Video: Alfonsina Storni

Last Saturday was International Women’s Day (IWD), a day in which to reflect on the accomplishments of women worldwide and to correct the wrongs committed against them. Several events took place on the 100th anniversary of IWD including a protest in Ciduad Juarez, Mexico calling for justice in the over 400 women killed since 1993. Many famous women have made their mark throughout Latin American history and this will be the theme for this week’s videos.

Today we feature Argentine poet Alfonsina Storni; much of her work focused on the repression of women by men and can be categorized as feminist. In the video clip below, Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa sings Alfonsina y el Mar ("Alfonsina and the sea"), a heart-wrenching tune based on Storni’s 1938 suicide when she walked into the ocean.

(Video link):

Sources- internationalwomensday.com, AFP, famouspoetsandpoems.com, Wikipedia

2 comments:

Maegan la Mala said...

This song always has made me cry my eyes out.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for that factoid regarding Alfonsina y el Mar. I love that song but I didn't know that was the inspiration for it.