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Saturday, October 12, 2019

Murdered: Poet Enrique Servín, Defender of the Tarahumara Culture and Languages

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Vanguardia
                            Poet Enrique Servín, defender of the Tarahumara culture was killed
Servín is described as " one of the few characters that sprout from the earth and that with their simplicity, warmth, joy, friendship, love and passion for literature, poetry and languages, illuminate the lives of those who they surround ''.

Family and friends reported that they had not seen him for several days, his sister went to the home located in the historic center of the capital of Chihuahua to look for him. There he found him lifeless
The 62-year-old poet, a prominent defender and promoter of the Tarahumara culture was murdered on Wednesday in his native Chihuahua.


Since 2017, he has been the head of the Department of Ethnic Cultures and Diversity of the Ministry of Culture of that state. Family and friends reported that they had not seen him for several days, his sister went to the home located in the historic center of the capital of Chihuahua to look for him. There he found him lifeless, with a blow to the head and a stab wound in the body.
The State Attorney General's Office (FGE) reported that at first the poet's car was not as usual outside his home, so it was thought that the crime could be the theft of his Tsuru, which was already located.

In recent years and in order to save the languages ​​of the indigenous peoples of Chihuahua from extinction, in particular the pima, Servín proposed to create "language nests."

He repeatedly warned that the languages ​​in his homeland have been disappearing. In addition to Guarojío, Tepehuán, Pima and Tarahumara, he announced another seven that are nearly lost, for example the Concho, spoken by a large group of people in the desert zone of the center-south of the state, adjacent to Texas and Coahuila.

Tragedy in the letters:

"The death of Servin is another great tragedy that involves the letters these days, especially the indigenous languages ​​of our country," said Professor Monte Monteyor, in an interview with La Jornada, who recalled that the poet, along with his father Carlos Montemayor and Miguel León-Portilla , '' was one of the great pillars, promoters and researchers of indigenous languages. Of the many crimes that remain unpunished in Mexico, hopefully justice will be done in this great man who gave so much to the world and leaves great sadness and a void in the hearts of those who admired and loved him."

The academic pointed out that Servín " is one of the few characters that sprout from the earth and that with their simplicity, warmth, joy, friendship, love and passion for literature, poetry and languages, illuminate the lives of those who they surround ''.

Consummate polyglot, translator from English, French, Polish, Arabic, Catalan, Russian, Portuguese, Hindi, and a great promoter of the Rarámuri language ; Among the awards he received are the Chihuahua awards, the José Fuentes Mares National, the L. Gaboriau awarded by the Banf International Literary Translation Center and the Andrés Henestrosa Myth, Story and Legend International.


He participated in international poetry congresses in Greece, India, Italy, Canada and China. Some of his poems were translated into English, Hebrew, Greek and Chinese. In 1998 Servin joined the Chihuahuan Institute of Culture; there he did a great job of dissemination and translation of the Rarámuri language.

'' Servin was a great friend who always supported me in the dissemination of my father's work, participated in several days dedicated to him in the city of Chihuahua and in Parral. He spoke with great love and admiration for Carlos, both understood the importance of literature and the dissemination of indigenous languages.

'' I think that the best tribute that can be made to a poet is to transmit that love and that passion for letters to those around us. From Bead Notebook, by Enrique Servín, published by Aldus and the Autonomous University of Chihuahua in 2015 I share the following:

'' Language is an instrument and an obstacle. As an instrument, it is enough to be able to use it. As an obstacle, it is necessary to undertake its exploration and reform. The latter is much more difficult. A language, while it is tradition, registration and collective imagination, is an immaterial library (...) To claim that violence is a manifestation of freedom is to forget that it has its origin in the most elementary of prisons: instinct. ''

On this case, the governor of Chihuahua, Javier Corral, said: "At the moment there are no concrete elements to determine that the writer Enrique Servín was murdered" and assured that the FGE will conduct a rigorous investigation to clarify the circumstances of his death.

10 comments:

  1. This is beyond sad. What a good man the people have lost.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cuantas mas? Las gemas puras de La Republica, trituradas hasta empolvadas,,,....

      Delete
  2. Killing off the diversity of cultures comprising the many tribes of Mexico all for the cult of greed, death, and money.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cds loves killing activist/tourist

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Impossible!!! Cds are the good guys, remember? (Sarcasm)

      Delete
  4. I am not familiar with the poet, but the story really saddened me and made me feel that Mexico is just lain inexorably destroying itself. .... kind of like the nation has stage 4 cancer.
    Mexico-Watcher

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  5. This guy was a family friend. He didn’t have any thing to do with narco business. They believe he was killed to steal his car. The guy was also a flamboyant homo sexual. Which could have added aggression from the thief’s.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I totally agree.
    This actually overwhelmed w sadness.
    What a loss and for what , we know not.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Not safe for the people
    Probably voted Amlo. And no protection

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a loss to a country so rich and diverse with it's culture and history of many indigenous nation's.

    ReplyDelete

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