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.
|
