D’au Vienes
Senteme, solu,
naquel prau,
a afayame.
De guah,e,
cuandu los mios güelos
andaben entá a la herba,
yo yera l’encargáu
de dir a la fonte
a pol agua,
p’aselar la sede d’agostu
del clan enteru
naquel valle ponguetu.
Ye perimportante
saber p’au vas.
Yelo tovía más
pescanciar d’au vienes.
Where are You from
I sat down, alone,
in that meadow,
to find myself.
When I was a boy,
when my grandfathers
were peasants,
I was responsible
for the search of water
to relax the August thirst
of all my clan
in that valley of Ponga.
It’s very important to know
where you are going.
It’s most important
to know where
you came from.
Xe M. Sánchez was born in Grau in Asturies, Spain. He received his PhD in history from the University of Oviedo in 2016, and he is an anthropologist. He has publishedinternationally in journals and reviews and has written several books in the Asturian language.