When a poet dies, the world is weakened. If the poet was in love with the world and fought for its welfare, defended nature and human happiness with verses and dedication to just causes, then the pain is intense, and the need to honor him imperative.
The Brazilian poet Thiago de Mello - born in Barreirinhas, Amazonas - has died at the age of 95, leaving a body of work that, given its relevance, was translated into more than 30 languages, and includes the universal Statutes of Man.
First Secretary of Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez conveyed in a tweet "heartfelt condolences to his people and loved ones,, and honored the poet on the occasion of his passing "with the eternal hope that his Statutes of Man will become a reality, one day before too long."
From the well-known text he quoted the words that define Thiago de Mello’s political and spiritual position: "By irrevocable decree be the permanent reign of justice and clarity established," adding, "The poet is gone, after a long and intense life, but he leaves us his verses full of hope."
Cuba will forever hold dearly the warm words for our people, offered on more than one occasion, by this social activist, also a diplomat and journalist, who visited the island for the first time 54 years ago, when in 1967 he was invited by Casa de las Americas to be part of the jury choosing winners of the institution’s Literary Prizes and participate in a tribute to Nicaraguan poet Ruben Dario, on the occasion of this artist’s centenary.
"I have a house in the world, the Casa de las Américas," he wrote in one of his books. His permanent contacts with the institution founded by Haydée Santamaría - a friend of his, and in his own words "the soul of this House, flagship of its people," as well as the publication of a selection of his poetic work by the Casa's publishing house, attest to the relationship.
Having served on the jury for the Casa’s Literary Prizes on four occasions, he was called upon to deliver the competition’s opening remarks in 1985, an occasion in which he considered his presence and his voice in the room, " recognition by the Casa de las Americas, that of the heart and intelligence of Cuba for the Brazilian people. To my people, on behalf of whom, yes, I can speak, strengthened by the commitment that, for a long time, I have maintained with their struggle and their path."
He addressed the jury that was beginning its work, saying, "Let us be capable of the best effort and also of the best judgment to penetrate the intimacy of the creation of so many writers of Our America, who, through their works, bear witness and interpret, with the transfiguring power of art, the life of our peoples." And assured them that, although they were there recognize outstanding literary works, the greatest prize would be that of "sharing life, this beautiful life that the people of Cuba are constructing all their days and nights."
De Mello, who received the Haydée Santamaría Medal, was included in the collection Palabras de nuestra América, in which his voice has been eternalized. In 2004 he returned to Cuba to attend the Cultures of the Amazon International Colloquium. While participating in the first Amazon Book Biennial, he donated his fees to the movement working to win the freedom of the Cuban Five.
Encouraged by his confidence in humanity, this friend of Fidel and of Our America wrote: "Be it decreed that men / are free from the sap of lies / Never again will it be necessary to use / the shield of silence or the armor of words / Man will sit at the table / with his pure gaze / because the truth will be served / before dessert.
In the dreams he defended, Cuba accompanies him and decrees eternal life for the poet.
