“Las Torres de KIO,” the poem presented here in English translation as “The KIO Towers,” is about the construction of the twin leaning towers on the Paseo de la Castellana at the Plaza de Castilla in Madrid, the KIO Towers, which were built between 1989 and 1996. José Luis Castillo Puche composed the original Spanish version of his poem in 1994 while construction was still in progress. The poem was published in 2014 in Hécula: Revista de la Fundación Castillo-Puche (Number 3). The twin KIO Towers are also known as the Gate of Europe because they symbolize Spain’s Transition and entry into the European Union. In his satirical poem, however, José Luis Castillo Puche interprets the towers as symbols of fiscal fraud and political corruption. -- Douglas Edward LaPrade, the translator
