Conmemorando

Driven by the strength of his mind,
in the solitude of his imagination,
with the faith that makes mortals omnipotent,
on the forehead of the sun, Columbus travels.

He’s joined by the rebel,
the skeptic, the brave;
hope and despair.
The future soldiers,
leaders and cardinals,
the guerrilla and the seed of a nation.

The commoner alongside the noble,
in the same pasodoble,
for gold and the passion for the Conquest.
And Columbus is their Admiral,
and God carries the banner
of imperialist Castile and Aragon.

Devils and madonnas travel,
ignorance and diplomas,
idealists, mercenaries, and patriots.
Innocents and guilty,
richer, poorer, miserable,
bound together in their quest for glory.

That was the best moment
of the great mistake.
When, facing the impossible,
a single heart beats.

They started
betting their souls,
with the invincible hope
of someone who's been a loser.
They ended
humiliating the heavens,
destroying their stars
and pissing on the moon and the sun.

The cross that later blessed the genocide
was the one that at first spoke of love.
Injustice doesn’t end for the Indian.
Five centuries haven’t calmed his pain.

Positive and negative
confuse in the legacy
of 1492.
Today, with no offense
to those who think differently,
I commemorate. But without celebration.

Commemorating...(commemorating)...five hundred years...(five hundred years)...
Commemorating...(being Latino)...five hundred years...(and still making
our way)...
Commemorating...(searching for America and still can’t find you)...
Five hundred years...(of tears and laughter... of feeling)...
Commemorating...(to all the Indians of our lands)...
Five hundred years...(waiting for justice, still hasn’t come)...
Commemorating...(a hope that doesn’t end)...
Five hundred years...(of a joy that stays alive)...
Commemorating...(our customs, our culture)...
Five hundred years...(one continent, one home)...
Commemorating...(five hundred years)...