LUNES CON LALO
yo ya me voy
Begins a famous Chicano song,
"La Barca de Oro" to be exact.
It talks of farewells.
It is about saying goodbye
to the one you love.
It is a sad, beer song.
So it is that good byes
Willingly or unwillingly
Must be said
To all we love,
to all who love us.
Adios, what an accurate word.
It is Chicano for good bye.
It is as if God does
Collect all things
And we properly send them back to Him.
Updating this verso some seven years later, I am much more in tune to the idea of saying good bye. My 55th birthday is a few days away. I was surprised by a doctor saying I was diabetic and that I needed to go on a diet and start taking insulin tablets, maybe even injections.
I have always enjoyed a very strong love of life. Saying an adios to life itself is going to be extremely hard for me. Yet, I know I am now as ready as I will ever be.
I cannot honestly call it a good bye in terms of my wife, children, and grandchildren. they are an extension of me. They will live for me.
I squeeze as much joy into each minutes and hour of my life. I do not panic because I am vulnerable as all of us humans. Saying good bye to love is not so hard because love is a boomerang which does return to the sender, always.
Who knows, with diets and pills, I may live to be 106.
--- Lalo Delgado
-------- ________________
MI MEXICO
Thinking about it brings me a chill,
thinking that out of my own free will
I have lost the right
to call you,
--- mi Mexico ---
I am now a foreigner
to my native soil.
Today I watch a parade commemorating
Mexico's independence.
I hear the doubling of the drums
and the wailing
of the bugles
And I feel my
heartbeat
accelerate like a race-car.
My eyes fill with salty water
from the sea,
maybe lagrimas
the eternal
reminders
of my true origin.
I feel like a man loving two women,
the blue skirted one
and the one with the green blouse.
I make my sense of loyalty
much stronger
by breaking it.
I watch the eagle and the serpent
upon the nopal,
the same eagle
dropped the snake
to pick up the spears
and olive branches
and became
a U.S. symbol.
The tanned olive in my skin
keep insisting
---You're still a Mexican ---
Are there really two different lands
claiming my heart
or is my heart
claiming two nationalities
or do I have two personalities?
----- Lalo Delgado
___________
NO TENGO PAPELES
Mis hermanos chicanos
me desconocen y me insultan,
no me abajan de
--- pinche mojado
muerto de hambre.----
Tengo miedo, tengo frió,
lo que no tengo es papeles.
Busco por aca
lo que en mi patria no hay
por tanta explotación americana.
Por tonto que me crean
yo entiendo de economía,
tengo la razón
pero no tengo papeles.
Me hechan a mi la culpa
por tanta gente sin trabajo
y por los sueldos bajos
y por que la economía
anda por el suelo.
Yo no tengo la culpa ni papeles.
La migra, ah, la migra,
es brazo elástico
del ranchero ventajoso,
de un gobierno conveniencero,
es el mismo que deje en México.
La migra rompe mi cabeza
y me asesina diciendo
que solo fue un accidente.
Todos se lo creen,
yo no tengo la razón
pero no tengo papeles.
Lo poco que gano a veces me alcanza
pa' mandarles un quiotro dólar
a los que deje atrás
pero no las veo llegar,
tengo una familia tan grande,
no tengo papeles.
Sí, es verdad,
la tristeza por estos rumbos
y ese idioma de los perros
es inaguantable y a veces me emborracho y me enamoro,
tengo corazón,
no tengo papeles.
Ni casa tengo, mis patrones
me hacen el gran favor
de dejarme dormir en un gallinero,
se los agradecso,
no tengo papeles.
Nací sin papales
crecí sin a papales,
yo se quien soy, soy mexicano.
Pido trabajo, no pido limosna.
Hay otros aquí sin papeles
ya a ellos nadie los molesta
por que están güeros.
Si, mi espalda esta mojada
pero de sudor, mis huevos también.
No tengo papeles,
no tengo papeles.
Abelardo
enero '74
“7-16-79” © 1979 Abelardo Delgado
“Mi Mexico” © Abelardo Delgado
“No Tendo Papeles” © Abelardo Delgado
Published with persmision of Dolores Delgado and the Delgado Family
EL PASO WRITER UPDATES
Dagoberto Gilb's Rumpus
The Rumpus posted a post on Dagoberto Gilb's story "Uncle Rock." Wow, this story is still getting allocates! The Rumpus states, "In the May 10th issue, Dagoberto Gilb’s “Uncle Rock” caught me off guard," READ MORE.
However, Vheissu's review gives the opposite opinion: "Dagoberto Gilb’s “Uncle Rock” (TNY, May 10, 2010) goes nowhere. Yes, you can fish out tiny specks that, stringed together, show that the main character is changing. But the story’s three short pages require much more patience than they should." READ MORE.
The University of Houston-Victoria American Book Review has four new associate editors from prestigious academic settings across the country to further the internationally distributed literary journal’s goal of being the top source for opinion on literary innovation. One of them is our own Dagoberto Gilb. READ MORE.
The Creation of Raymond Paredes
Paredes has been in the news regarding creationist who want to create a masters in creationist science. Here are several stories:
Texas judge rejects creationist master's degree
Court Smacks Down Creationist Institute Suit « Texas Freedom Network
A Bible-based science degree? Even Texas wouldn't swallow that ...
Judge Sam Sparks Ruling in ICR v. Texas Higher Ed Coordinating Board
Paredes is also mentioned in the San Antonio-Express News in the article "Higher education faces fiscal woes":
With a projected budget shortfall of $18 billion looming over the state, higher education will likely take a financial beating in the next legislative session and it could not come at a worse time." READ MORE.
Tatiana de la Tierra's Gift
Check out UTEP MFA alumna Tatiana's post on La Bloga: The Gift: When I Found Out My Daughter was a Lesbian.
El día de las madres ya pasó, pero me quedé pensando en las madres y las hijas que no lo celebraron: en la madre a quien la intolerancia selló su corazón con dolor y en la hija que ...READ MORE.
Magical Realism Made Graphic
Democracy Guest List posted a small post on El Paso's Cinco Puntos Press’ new full-color comic Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush by Luis Alberto Urrea. Check it out.
Illustrator of Pat Mora's book wins Belpré Medal
Given annually, the Pura Belpré Medal is awarded to a Latino writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. The award is known worldwide for the high quality it represents and serves as a guideline for educators, parents and bookstores for the best of the best in Latino-themed children’s literature.
John Parra, illustrator of “Gracias. Thanks,” written by El Paso native Pat Mora and published by Lee & Low Books Inc. will be honored. READ MORE.
Octavio Solis' "Lydia"
Octovio Solis play "Lydia" will be featured at the New Play Summit in Denver, Colorado.
from Vermont Public Radio
"Lydia was one of three world premieres at this year's New Play Summit, a conference that Thompson started as a way to showcase readings and full productions of new work. Critics raved about the play, which tells the story of a dysfunctional Mexican-American family in El Paso, Texas. One reviewer compared playwright Solis to Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller; another called Lydia a story "filled with mystery and magic."
READ MORE.
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