A semiotic analysis of the poetry collection Los empedrados de la sangre by Carlos Luis Ortiz Moyano

Abstract

Contemporary Ecuadorian literature has developed new forms of symbolic representation within poetic discourse and incorporated elements related to memory, identity, and human experience through the use of complex metaphors. Within this context, this study focuses on the poetry collection Los empedrados de la sangre by the Ecuadorian poet Carlos Luis Ortiz Moyano. The main objective was to analyze the myth of blood within the work through a semiotic study of metaphorical discourse based on Paul Ricoeur’s theory of the living metaphor. Methodologically, an interpretive qualitative approach was employed, organizing the analysis into four thematic axes related to blood as a symbol of identity, cultural memory, symbolic violence, and ancestral continuity. The results showed that blood constitutes the central symbolic core of the poetry collection, articulating metaphors related to the body, stone, territory, and family heritage. In conclusion, the metaphor of blood functions as a hermeneutic structure capable of transforming human experience into a deeply symbolic and cultural poetic discourse.