Today on #LatinoLit we are proud to present the an amazing piece about REAL BORICUA PRIDE by the very talented Efrain Ortiz, Jr. As millions of Puerto Ricans swarm 5th Avenue for the Puerto Rican Day Parade, we as a country, as a people, still stay silent and ignorant of what it is to be BORICUA. ¡Despierta, boricua, coño, despierta!
Efrain Ortiz, Jr.
DEEPER THAN THAT
by Efrain Ortiz, Jr
There are no trinkets to be worn
There are no flags to fly
There is no shouting at the top of my lungs
There is no float I want to see passing by
My pride is deeper than that
Deeper than all the commercialism
Far deeper than the corporate capitalist
Getting rich off the backs of the very same parade viewers
Deeper than the politician waving a flag for support
Saying
Vote for me, vote for me…
My pride is deeper than that
To celebrate and show cultural pride
Let it be known; there’s nothing wrong with that
I shouted and waved the same
When I didn’t know from where I came
Not for not wanting, not for want to ignore
One-sided histories made for want of more
And more….
And more…
My pride is deeper than that
There are things that can’t be changed
Like the blood that flows through my veins
Blood that flows like a thousand waving flags
In sync and in harmony
With a heart that pulsates the song of a lone star
Blood with origins in another land
Land once tended by indigenous peoples
Land that gave birth to my forbearers
Etched deep within my pulsating heart
I affirm my identity with that of the forbearers
And proclaim…..my pride is deeper than that.
©Efrain Ortiz Jr.
