Pequeños Nerudas
Pequeños Nerudas [Little Nerudas]: CCRI Students Write Poetry in Spanish with a Little Help from Pablo Neruda
The Department of World Languages and Cultures is proud to share with the CCRI community the homage that students in Elementary Spanish I recently paid to the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Professor Mara Theodoritsi used Neruda’s El libro de las preguntas (The Book of Questions) as a source of inspiration to have her students write questions with a poetic flair in Spanish. Putting their creative juices to work, students not only worked on their writing skills but also became acquainted with one of the greatest poets in the Spanish language and took in many cases their first steps in the art of poetry-writing.
By Pablo Neruda; Illustrated by Paloma Valdivia, Translated by Sara Lissa Paulson
Below is a sample of the students’ work.
SPAN 1030-004
¿Quién sabe cuánto tarda un arcoíris en contar sus colores? [Who knows how long it
takes for a rainbow to count its colors?]
By Natalie Braun & Natalie Giorno
¿Quién es el que olió el color verde? [Who is s/he that smelled color green?]
By Gracie Andreozzi & Shayleen Fernandez
¿Cuántas horas tiene un día, y cuántas horas tiene un mes? [How many hours does a
day have, and how many hours does a month have?]
By Davante Abney & Rudeliz Gomez Aquino
Cuándo un espectáculo es aplaudido, ¿cuántas personas en todo el mundo están aplaudiendo
también? [When an audience claps during a show, how many people all around the world
are clapping too?]
By Josilyna Lague & Aidan Mahoney
¿El 5 es 5 para todos? [5 is 5 for everyone?]
¿Quién gritó de felicidad por el nacimiento del color verde? [Who shouted for joy
at the birth of color green?]
By Melvina Gboe & Omega Wilson
¿Cuántos meses tienen veintiocho días? [How many months have twenty-eight days?]
By Kirsten Kincaid, Gavin Rodman & Adrian Rodriguez
¿Por qué mi bebida salió verde? [Why did my drink come out green?]
By Angel Guzman, Andrew Omigie, & Camila Torres Robles
SPAN 1030-005
¿Cuántas estrellas puedes encontrar en los ojos de alguien? [Ηοw many starts can you
find in somebody’s eyes?]
By Xavier Cherry, Mahki Galloway & Daisy Sanchez
¿Cuántas estrellas hay en el paseo de la fama de Hollywood? [How many stars are there
in the Hollywood Walk of Fame?]
By Aidan Beaulieu & Christina Martin
¿Por qué se agitan las olas? [Why do waves move to and fro?]
Si los peces son el océano y el agua es el mar, ¿por qué sumergirse bajo el agua?
[If fish are the ocean and water is the sea, why dive underwater?]
¿Por qué el cielo se nubla pero el sol no? [Why does the sky get cloudy but not the
sun?]
¿Cómo puedo explicar que mis orejas están hechas de mariposas? [How could I explain
that my ears are made of butterflies?]
By Titilayo Ayeni & Αlexa Juszczyk
¿Por qué el cielo es azul? [Why is the sky blue?]
By Jack Gagliardi & Cole O’ Brien
¿Quién pone el sol en el cielo? [Who puts the sun in the sky?]
By Sean Colleran & Zayvion Stokes
SPAN 1030-010
¿Cuántas veces viene uno a la universidad por semana? [Ηοw many times per week does
one come to school?]
By Jonah Baker
Cuando termina la clase, ¿por qué tengo hambre? [When a class ends, why am I hungry?]
By Caleb Haynes & Austin Martins
¿Cómo confirmarías tu existencia si no hubiera nadie más que pudiera percibirte? [How
could you confirm that you exist if there was no one else who could see you?]
By Daniela Fontanez & Justin Hall
Si las nubes estuvieran hechas de algodón de azúcar, ¿llovería dulzura, o se pegaría
al suelo? [If clouds were made of cotton candy, would it rain sweetness, or would
it stick to the ground?]
By Briant Bourdier & Zaid Kattan
¿Por qué es el océano azul y no transparente? [Why is the ocean blue and not transparent?]
By Jack Brown & Bethsabe Torres Quezada
¿Por qué la luna es azul y las estrellas blancas? [Why is the moon blue and the stars
white?]
By Aiden Dugas & Janiah Johnson
¿Qué debemos hacer todos los días? [What should we do every day?]
By Amelia Bilderback & Ruiguo Dong
¿Tenemos libre albedrío? [Do we have free will?]
By Alyssa Ferns & Ashley Pope
¿Cuántas tiendas tiene la oficina? [Ηοw many stores does the office have?]
By Keiriallyz Concepcion
¿Quién se enojó cuando se hizo el color amarillo? [Who got angry when color yellow
was made?]
By Hannah Lawson
¿Por qué se debería de hacer una pregunta? [Why should a question be made?]
By Yohuany Suarez Hernandez
¡Enhorabuena a tod@s! Congrats to everyone!
¡Estamos orgullos@s de ustedes! We are proud of you!
Related Links
The Global Edge: LIBA 1500 (Online)- Exciting Summer Immersion Program in Italy - Explore the unique, personalized and memorable Program directed by Professor Maria C. Mansella (Future opportunities to explore - coming soon.)
- The Learner's Journey: LIBA 1000 (Online) - Fall 2025 Harness your limitless talents! To read more from students who have completed this course, please click here: Students' words - The Learner's Journey