Enrique Alberto Servín Herrera was a poet, writer, defender of indigenous cultures and languages, and activist for human right, who mastered more than 28 languages, including Arabic
By Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, Egypt
“The paradox of death is that, by erasing everything, it erases itself.
So, for the one who dies, death does not exist”
Enrique Alberto Servín Herrera, born in Chihuahua, on 28 January 1958, and passed away on 9 October 2019, was Mexican poet, writer, defender of indigenous cultures and languages, and activist for human right who mastered more than 28 languages, including Arabic.
He was remembered yesterday, October 9, when his family and friends met again at “el Jonuco”, honoring the memory of the late icon. Gabriela Servín Herrera, his sister, circulated the invitation to make this memorial to Enrique, and she received, as always, very warm and heartfelt responses. She noted an excerpt from one of them:
“I found it very interesting, Gaby, that you used a plant with roots in the invitation… I confess that although my father had a nursery and I have a certain fondness for plants, I didn’t recognize this one. But “Google” told me that this little herb has, among many others, common names such as: Mil hojas, hierba de Aquíles, hierba de las herida and other almost humorous names.”
The note explained: “Coincidence or not, using creativity, these names describe Enrique very well. Enrique is not remembered for what Gaby knew, BUT FOR HOW WELL HE KNEW HOW TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL… for example, calling us by the names he baptized us with…”
Read: Fleeting Moments of Balance: Poems by Enrique Servín Herrera
Gabriela concluded: “We all remember Enrique for something special, how he made us feel special. I am sure that in the dimension where his soul is, he will be happy to see us reunited by the love we had for him, and even more so listening to the poetry and texts that each of us shared.“
In the year followed his absence, I joined two poetesses to remember him, Rati Saxena and Francoise Roy, in this video.
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Ashraf Aboul-Yazid is a renowned Egyptian poet, journalist, novelist, travelogue writer and translator. He is author of around three dozen books and Editor-in-Chief of Silk Road Literature Series.
