Three Songs from the 50s

Song 1 Julito used to shine the soul of his shoes before he left for the Palladium to take the wax off the floor while Tito Rodriguez flew around the walls like a parakeet choking maracas It was around this time that Julito threw away his cape because the Umbrella Man and the Dragons put the heat on all the Ricans who used to fly around in Dracula capes swinging canes or carrying umbrellas Even if there was no rain on the horizon That same epoca my mother got the urge to paint the living room pink and buy a new mirror with flamingoes elegantly on the right hand corner because the one we had was broken from the time that Carlos tried to put some respect Into Julito and knock the party out of him. Song 2 All the old Chevies that the gringoes from upstate New York wore out Were sailing around the neighborhood with dices and San Martin de Porres el negrito who turned catholic Hanging in the front windows. Song 3 There was still no central heating in the tenements We thought that the cold was the oldest thing on the planet earth We used to think about my Uncle Listo Who never left his hometown We’d picture him siting around cooling himself with a fan In that imaginary place called Puerto Rico.