Your daily dose of Chicano poetry
"I write poems on walls that crumble and fall
I talk to shadows that sleep and go away crying.”
Luis Omar Salinas (1937–2008)
Mal Hombre
Lydia Mendoza was a pioneering Tejana vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of the 1920s and ’30s who transcended borders and became an international star. Mendoza passed away in 2007.
Here’s an excerpt from Chris Strachwitz and Jame Nicolopulos’ book Lydia Mendoza: A Family Autobiography at NPR.org
Un/poetic
there was something in a raulsalinas poem
said the words somewhere: “unpoetic lives”
and how he meant it/
I don’t know what context
because I was doing the house cleaning/
hair in a chongo
chanclas on the feet
and the CD was just in there/
playing
and I was really digging on the horns/distracted
and I felt like:
Man, I hope that’s not me
Anonymous
Priceless
My cultura’s not for sale gringa
when you grab a silver ring from
an Indio’s stand and ask
“Koo-an-doh Koo-eh-stah”
in your sorry ass Spanish
I’ve seen tourists in Mexican bordertowns
Winter Texans in Tamaulipas
Wild college kids on Spring Break
Buying anything under ten dollars
Smiling at impoverished children
then
Returning to a privileged America
It’s not for sale
though the sign says
You get more for your dollar
Less for your peso
But
My culture wasn’t devalued.
I’ve seen gringos come for miles
to hear a “real” Mariachi
enjoy a few bailables
watch some surviving Indian dances
But you can’t capture us on a cd,
photograph us and
make us part of your collective memory
We have our own
and in them
You are still the gringo invaders of Texas
the treacherous robbers of Aztlan
the “big brother” of the north
In my memory
you are a foreigner to me
I will not give you our precious things
My people are not for sale
I am not a happy jarabe
a rhythmic son
a colorful Jalisco dress
a Chiapas Zapatista
I am not the most vivid and publicized
I am not a woman being beaten by police
I am not a drug lord or president
I am not a technocrat
That is not my cultura
That’s the media
Precious things are sacred and
your dollar will never buy you
My memories
My history
My place in a community
My cultura’s not for sale gringa
and neither are my men
“Dark, indigenous looking Mexicans”
are for Anthro books and theses papers
Not for the real world
Not for your photo album
You cannot have my songs
or dances
or looks
You cannot buy the sacred stories
the history of a revolution
the pride of my cultura
These are priceless things
which have been bought with blood of Mexicans
Mexicans alone
Not for you gringa
Not for the tourist
Not for the journalist
Just for the Raza
Those of us who know we own it
without having to buy it.
Maribel Ledesma
There are two great poems by Ledesma at Chicanas.com; Priceless is one of them. The other is called Printed Revolutionary.
Las Manos
(parapa Agapito)
Las manos de papá
secas
como dos camaliones descansan
a su lao
resuellan por espaldas de arena
donde miles de veredas (como surcos de labores)
nacen y mueren en cabeceras de poros—
mapas de su mundo
caminos lejanos veredas y surcos
en tierras arenosas
donde huellas del capullo y de espinas del pepino
se totearon y acompañan
callos aburridos
que por años rasparon el mango del azadón—
descansan a su lao
sus dedos toscos cacahuates
tostaos
manchaos
de tabaco y de trabajo tiesos
rasposos como camaliones—
secas manos en sus últimas canículas
al fin descansan.
inquietas.
Jose Flores Peregrino
This poem is from Mesqui+ierra published by Pajarito Publications in 1977.
Jose Flores Peregrino is an English Professor and Jefe de Danza in Austin, Texas. He’s also a musician and songwriter. He plays bajo sexto and is a vocalist in Conjunto Aztlan.
Variation on a Theme by William Carlos Williams
I have eaten
the tamales
that were on
the stove heating
and which
you were probably
having
for dinner
Perdoname
they were riquisimos
so juicy
and so steaming hot
Tino Villanueva
This poem was taken from Shaking off the Dark published by Arte Publico Press.
Read William Carlos Williams’ poem “This Is Just To Say” at Poets.org
“Poet and writer Tino Villanueva was born in San Marcos, Texas in 1941. In the early 1970s, he began publishing his poems and he became part of what has been called The Chicano Literary Renaissance. His work highlights the tension as well as the richness of living within two different cultures. He writes in both English and Spanish, often switching between the two languages. In 1972, he published his first collection of poems, Hay Otra Voz Poems (There Is Another Voice Poems). That year he also wrote Chicano Is an Act of Defiance.” Read the rest of this biographical note of Villanueva at the Southwestern Writers Collection website.
Xican@ Poetry Daily 