The Killing of Poet Roque Dalton

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2017

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

In May 1975 one of Latin America's leading young poets was shot dead in El Salvador by members of his own rebel group. Roque Dalton was a prolific writer, who spent years in exile before returning to his native El Salvador to join the guerrillas fighting to overthrow the military regime. Dalton was killed along with another rebel, accused of spying for the Americans. Mike Lanchin has been speaking to one of the poet's sons, Juan Jose, about his father's short life and untimely death.

Photo: Roque Dalton receiving the Casa de las Américas prize for poetry in 1969.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.5	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:18.0	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
0:24.6	poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.
0:29.7	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC
0:35.4	Sounds.
0:36.4	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:40.9	My name's Linda Davies and I commissioned
0:43.0	podcast for BBC Sounds.
0:45.0	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality,
0:49.0	featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:54.4	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
1:00.9	poltergeist, cricket and conspiracy theories, and that's just a few examples.
1:06.4	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC
1:11.6	Sounds. Hello and welcome to the witness podcast, History Told by the People who were there.
1:17.0	Today we go back to May of 1975 and the Murder in El Salvador of one of Latin America's leading young poets.
1:25.0	During his short life, Roqued Dalton wrote a huge body of poems about love, life and revolution
1:32.0	at a time of rising political and social turmoil in the region.
1:36.8	He was killed by members of his own Marxist rebel group who accused him of being an American
1:42.4	spy.
1:45.0	I've been speaking to one of Rokidalton's sons, Juan Jose.
	...

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