Tato Laviera

pues estoy creando spanglish bi-cultural systems scientific lexicographical inter-textual integrations two expressions existentially wired two dominant languages continentally abrazándose en colloquial combate en las aceras del soil imperio spanglish emerges control pandillaje sobre territorio bi-lingual las novelas mexicanas mixing with radiorocknroll condimented cocina lore immigrant/migrant nasal mispronouncements baraja chismeteos social club hip-hop prieto street salsa corner soul enmixturando spanish pop farándula standard english classroom with computer technicalities spanglish is literally perfect spanglish is ethnically snobbish spanglish is cara-holy inteligencia which u.s. slang do you speak?

people talk about loneliness is only sexual companionship that's soon forgotten people talk about solitude beneath its seven layers nobody can talk about solitude and soledad well, there is no english translation

congas          congas             congas congas          congas             congas desperate hands need a fix from the healthy skin of the congas congas the biggest threat to heroin congas make junkies hands healthier las venas se curan ligero con las congas conguito congas congueros salsa de guarapo melao azucarero congas on summer months take the place of the winter fire that the wino congregation seeks, the fire . . . que calienta los tecatos muertos de frío en el seno de un verano congas gather around con un rumboncito caliente . . . y ahí vienen los morenos a gozar con sus flautas y su soul jazz congas           congas tecata's milk gets warmed broken veins leave misery hypodermic needles melt from the voodoo curse of the conga madness the congas clean the gasses in the air, the congas burn out everything not natural to our people congas strong cuchifrito juice giving air condition to faces unmolested by the winds and the hot jungles of loisaida streets chévere, rumbones, me afectó me afectó, me afectó, me afectó chévere     rumbones     me afectó

i think in spanish i write in english i want to go back to puerto rico, but i wonder if my kink could live in ponce, mayagüez and carolina tengo las venas aculturadas escribo en spanglish abraham in español abraham in english tato in spanish "taro" in english tonto in both languages how are you? ¿cómo estás? i don't know if i'm coming or si me fui ya si me dicen barranquitas, yo reply, "¿con qué se come eso?" si me dicen caviar, i digo, "a new pair of converse sneakers." ahí supe que estoy jodío ahí supe que estamos jodíos english or spanish spanish or english spanenglish now, dig this: hablo lo inglés matao hablo lo español matao no sé leer ninguno bien so it is, spanglish to matao what i digo ¡ay, virgen, yo no sé hablar!

( can pickers ) i am a twentieth-century welfare recipient moonlighting in the sun as a latero a job invented by national and state laws designed to re-cycle aluminum cans to return to consumer acid laden gastric inflammation pituitary glands coca diet rite low-cal godsons of artificially flavored malignant indigestions somewhere down the line of a cancerous cell i collect from garbage cans in outdoor facilities congested with putrid residues my hands shelving themselves opening plastic bags never knowing what to encounter several times a day i touch evil rituals slit throats of chickens tongues of poisoned rats salivating on my index finger smells of month old rotten food next to pamper's diarrhea dry blood infectious diseases hypodermic needles tissued with heroine water drops pilfered in slimy grease blood hazardous waste materials but i cannot use rubber gloves they undermine my daily profit i am a twentieth-century welfare recipient moonlighting during the day as a latero making it big in america someday i might become experienced enough to offer technical assistance to other lateros i am thinking of publishing my own guide to latero collecting and founding a latero's union to offer medical dental benefits i am a twentieth-century welfare recipient moonlighting at night as a latero i am considered some kind of expert at collecting cans during fifth avenue parades i can now hire workers at twenty five cents an hour guaranteed salary and fifty per cent of two and one half cents profit on each can collected i am a twentieth-century welfare recipient moonlighting at midnight as a latero i am becoming an entrepreneur an american success story i have hired bag ladies to keep peddlers from my territories i have read in some guide to success that in order to get rich to make it big i have to sacrifice myself moonlighting until dawn by digging deeper into the extra can margin of profit i am on my way up the opportunistic ladder of success in ten years i will quit welfare to become a legitimate businessman i'll soon become a latero executive with corporate conglomerate intents god bless america.

for liberty, your day filled in splendor, july fourth, new york harbor, nineteen eighty-six, midnight sky, fireworks splashing, heaven exploding into radiant bouquets, wall street a backdrop of centennial adulation, computerized capital angling cameras celebrating the international symbol of freedom stretched across micro-chips, awacs surveillance, wall-to-wall people, sailing ships, gliding armies ferried in pursuit of happiness, constitution adoration, packaged television channels for liberty, immigrant illusions celebrated in the name of democratic principles, god bless america, land of the star spangled banner that we love, but the symbol suffered one hundred years of decay climbing up to the spined crown, the fractured torch hand, the ruptured intestines, palms blistered and calloused, feet embroidered in rust, centennial decay, the lady's eyes, cataract filled, exposed to sun and snow, a salty wind, discolored verses staining her robe, she needed re-molding, re-designing, the decomposed body now melted down for souvenirs, lungs and limbs jailed in scaffolding of ugly cubicles incarcerating the body as she prepared to receive her twentieth-century transplant paid for by pitching pennies, hometown chicken barbecues, marathons on america's main streets. she heard the speeches: the president's the french and american partners, the nation believed in her, rooted for the queen, and lady liberty decided to reflect on lincoln's emancipatory resoluteness on washington's patriotism, on jefferson's lucidity, on william jennings bryan's socialism, on woodrow wilson's league of nations, on roosevelt's new deal, on kennedy's ecumenical postures, and on martin luther king's non-violence. lady liberty decided to reflect on lillian wald's settlements, on helen keller's sixth sense, on susan b. anthony's suffrage movement, on mother cabrini's giving soul, on harriet tubman's stubborn pursuit of freedom. just before she was touched, just before she was dismantled, lady liberty spoke, she spoke for the principles, for the preamble, for the bill of rights, and thirty-nine peaceful presidential transitions, and, just before she was touched, lady liberty wanted to convey her own resolutions, her own bi-centennial goals, so that in twenty eighty-six, she would be smiling and she would be proud. and then, just before she was touched, and then, while she was being re-constructed, and then, while she was being celebrated, she spoke. if you touch me, touch ALL of my people who need attention and societal repair, give the tired and the poor the same attention, AMERICA, touch us ALL with liberty, touch us ALL with liberty. hunger abounds, our soil is plentiful, our technology advanced enough to feed the world, to feed humanity's hunger . . . but let's celebrate not our wealth, not our sophisticated defense, not our scientific advancements, not our intellectual adventures. let us concentrate on our weaknesses, on our societal needs, for we will never be free if indeed freedom is subjugated to trampling upon people's needs. this is a warning, my beloved america. so touch me, and in touching me touch all our people. do not single me out, touch all our people, touch all our people, all our people our people people. and then i shall truly enjoy my day, filled in splendor, july fourth, new york harbor, nineteen eighty-six, midnight sky, fireworks splashing, heaven exploding into radiant bouquets, celebrating in the name of equality, in the pursuit of happiness, god bless america, land of star spangled banner that we love.

we gave birth to a new generation, AmeRícan, broader than lost gold never touched, hidden inside the puerto rican mountains. we gave birth to a new generation AmeRícan, it includes everything imaginable you-name-it-we-got-it society. we gave birth to a new generation, AmeRícan salutes all folklores, european, indian, black, spanish and anything else compatible: AmeRícan,       singing to composer pedro flores' palm trees up high in the universal sky! AmeRícan,       sweet soft spanish danzas gypsies moving lyrics la española cascabelling presence always singing at our side! AmeRícan,       beating jíbaro modern troubadours crying guitars romantic continental bolero love songs! AmeRícan,       across forth and across back back across and forth back forth across and back and forth our trips are walking bridges! it all dissolved into itself, an attempt was truly made, the attempt was truly absorbed, digested, we spit out the poison, we spit out in malice, we stand, affirmative in action, to reproduce a broader answer to the marginality that gobbled us up abruptly! AmeRícan,       walking plena-rhythms in new york, strutting beautifully alert, alive many turning eyes wondering, admiring! AmeRícan,       defining myself my own way any way many many ways Am e Rícan, with the big R and the accent on the í! AmeRícan,       like the soul gliding talk of gospel boogie music! AmeRícan,       speaking new words in spanglish tenements, fast tongue moving street corner "que corta" talk being invented at the insistence of a smile! AmeRícan,       abounding inside so many ethnic english people, and out of humanity, we blend and mix all that is good! AmeRícan,       integrating in new york and defining our own destino, our own way of life, AmeRícan,       defining the new america, humane america, admired america, loved america, harmonious america, the world in peace, our energies collectively invested to find other civili- zations, to touch God, further and further, to dwell in the spirit of divinity! AmeRícan,       yes, for now, for i love this, my second land, and i dream to take the accent from the altercation, and be proud to call myself american, in the u.s. sense of the word, AmeRícan, America!