A selection of poems by Ponce-born poet Margarita Sastre de Balmaceda has been turned into songs in 'Un inmenso suspiro', a musical production that sets 12 poems drawn from her six published poetry collections as 11 songs about nature, homeland, memories, love, family and the human experience. The pieces are sung by singer-songwriter Lourdes Cansobre, and the musical arrangements are by producer and musician José M. Gómez, known as 'El Profesor Gómez', recognized for his work with Puerto Rican artists such as Ednita Nazario and Kany García.
The single 'Montañas’, from Sastre’s most recent collection, 'Encierro', was written in 2016 and inspired by memories of her father’s farm and her bond with the Puerto Rican landscape; it is already available on digital platforms, and the full production is out November 6. Sastre de Balmaceda, a student of painter Miguel Pou, studied fine arts, spent about 15 years as deputy director of the Museo de Arte de Ponce, and later taught and chaired the Humanities Department at the University of Puerto Rico in Ponce.
Her six collections are 'Tierra y alma', 'Un inmenso suspiro', 'Los hijos de nadie', 'Catedral de manos’, 'Nombres susurrados’ and 'Encierro'. A free launch event will be held Sunday, November 8, at 4:00 PM at Mesas y Telón in Ponce, the poet’s hometown.