Proud to share...a poem by Chris

Christian goes to a humanities magnet high school, and a lot of his core curriculum has him and his classmates thinking outside the box and looking at the world around them in many different ways. They are taught to be critical thinkers and he is becoming a very reflective person and the work that he has produced over time has impressed us on more than one occasion and this is one of those days.

He had an assignment to sit down with his wonderful, loving grandparents, (Jerry's parents and my mom and aunt) to talk about where they came from, and how they lived so he can get an idea of where he comes from. Watching Chris sit and listen to them and and ask questions and laugh out loud at some of their childhood stories is always priceless. More so is to see him take all those stories and combine them so well into this spoken word poem, so being the proud mama that I am, I would like to share it with you today...

Desvergonzado (Shameless) By: Christian Camacho Yo soy un descendiente del pasado de mi familia y yo soy orgulloso (I am a descendent of my family’s past and I am proud) My family is one of oratorical traditions We love sharing stories, Though that tradition is slightly, sadly starting to fade Because none of my first cousins, or my brothers, nor I can speak the language of these stories Yet, there is always a story to share to bring out a smile in the family Where I’m from, smiles are born regardless of what job your Mamá o Papá have. Regardless of whether you were living it up in heart of Medellin, Colombia Or living off of arroz, frijoles, y frutas from this mornings crop I AM A COLOMBIAN MEXICAN MAN I come from the Nylon strings of the guitar that my Tita played Those strings are like my Latino roots that I strum with pride I am not ashamed to declare where I’m from I am not ashamed of my Mexican Tito Quien era travieso, pero lograba reírse (who was naughty, but always laughed) Who lived in poverty, with income de un Zapatero and from selling homemade tortillas I am not ashamed because I can say that my great uncle Carlos Owned a zoo, a helicopter, a jet, and has a street and school in Mexico named after him He was an influential man whose influence and admiration have past on to my Tito Who I hold to be one of the most admirable men in my life. I am not ashamed of my Colombian great grandparents Who lived in a shack and slept on beds of bamboo I am not ashamed I am not ashamed because though they lived in the mountain dirt The smiled They were content, not because they were poor But because all they needed were each other They didn’t need money, Granted there wasn’t quite enough dinero to save my grandma’s parents’ lives, But they beat out what the system tried to do I am not ashamed because they survived and were happy doing so Where I’m from, happiness cannot be too far from family We could be living in sewers of Manhattan We could be living at the epicenter of Skid Row We could be living the tightest of spaces but for all we know is that where I’m from Love Is just a smile or two away.

So proud that my baby is proud of where he is from, and Chris' smile is always full of LOVE!

BTW- This baby of mine will actually be turning 17 on Monday!!!
OMG! is all I can say :)

I hope you enjoyed my share piece today :)

From my corner to yours...Thank you for stopping by!