Latinhood
what does it feel like inside?
what color is this latinhood?
how does it do what it does?
what is it that makes it happen
in the way that it happens?
volatile
inquisitional
monolingual
with a yellow flower stuck in the braided hair
what language does it like to speak?
cachitquel
spanish
nahuatl
creole
or english
does it know the rules to civilized behavior?
does it tend to go at your throat
when feeling threatened and cheated?
what color is this latinhood of mine?
is it black latin
brown latin
indio latin
white latin
latin latin
italian latin via buenos aires
latin with a tinge of whiteness
mestizo latin with korean roots?
is it straight a’s
honor roll
hall of fame
welfare recipient
registered to vote
legal or illegal?
is it urinating latin
PHD latin
regular latin
or latin supreme?
is it mexican latin
salavtrucan latin
patagonia latin
latin with an american passport?
what does it feel like inside?
what does it feel like inside?
oh my god!
could it be that you feel flowery
hot and spicy
rio grande
bolivian lake
fm radio in a caracas afternoon
colombian capital full of parades
how do you know that you are a latin?
that you are not
a russian impostor with a peruvian accent
what the hell is this all about?
is it about yellow rice
bean soup recipes
is it about coca plants
about garcia marquez
or is it about tourism
bananas
inflation
is it about being weird
different
borracho
poetic
hispanic american with the sound of fiestas patronales
what color did you get yours?
is it blue chilean
yellow asuncion
burgundy of st. croix
purple san jose
who are you in this crazy web of latins?
are you a jimenez, an escobar
a maravilla, a scapini, a molina
a well of broken wishes
who are you?
did I meet your mustache somewhere else?
are we related?
is it true what they are saying?
that this whole thing
is the simple ability
to swallow the world at birth
keeping it
learning to chew at it
letting it grow
letting it grow inside.
-Quique Avilés, 1992
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