Cultivo una rosa blanca / I Grow a White Rose

By José Martí
Read by Ruben Rabasa

Cultivo una rosa blanca,
En julio como en enero,
Para el amigo sincero
Que me da su mano franca.

Y para el cruel que me arranca
El corazón con que vivo,
Cardo ni ortiga cultivo:
Cultivo la rosa blanca.

//

I grow a white rose,
in June as in January
for the true friend
who offers an honest hand.

And for the cruel one who would tear out
my living heart,
I grow neither thistle nor nettle.
I grow a white rose.

Credits

Directed by Eric Felipe-Barkin.

Part of Read By Miami, a 2026 series produced in collaboration with O, Miami Poetry Festival featuring poets and actors of Miami.

Spanish translation by Eric Felipe-Barkin.