Last weekend, I was invited to recite a poem at two different events: the first was a Peace Corps poetry jam hosted by the Oiste volunteer magazine team; the second was the annual poetry and music exhibition in Pradomar, commemorating Julio Flórez, a famous local poet.
I wrote a poem about my experience with language acquisition, in which I have reached a point where the two syntaxes, cultures and, ultimately, identities meet, in a single, confusing mindset called Spanglish.
My brain speaks Spanglish–half and half, whatever comes out first. And that’s kind of how my concept of self has become–no longer wholly a single culture or perspective, but a mix of two.
I hope you enjoy!
Spanglish video
Transcript:
Spanglish
Yo tengo this thing, sabes
My lips, teeth, tongue
boca, garganta, lungs
They’re all vueltia’o
Running over, under, in and out
And quedan abusa’os
todos agota’os
All combined to one
One tongue
One mixed up, de todita lengua
that no one understands
no one but maybe tu
On one hand, hay
words, ideas,
quid pro quo
Irony, analisis, wit and GO!
Al otro lado, pues
rhythm, rrriccccoooo beats
Sensual, sexy, sweet
cogele suave, amor
One tongue
One mixed up, de todita lengua
not pa’alla ni aca
It’s Spanglish, this vaina!
It’s a viva thing
Two identities a la vez
Dos mundos, one fluidez
Jodaaaa, now what?
Aja, so here we are
que hay que hacer?
metamorphosis
Welcome to el nuevo ser
One tongue
One mixed up, de todita lengua
Integracion
not here, not there
But somehow, everywhere
