Wednesday, November 23
LA INDEPENDENCIA (DE PUERTO RICO) para Sandy los enemigos afilan nuestra tristeza y la entierran en nuestras ganas de luchar. si alguna vez amaste a pesar del debo (aunque ahora te arrepientas); si tomaste el riesgo leve de nadar
sin ver el fondo; si saliste de ahí; si evitaste el doctor y fuiste a la playa; si votaste en contra de tus padres; si rompiste una regla simple, robaste papel de baño, te comiste el pare que decía coca cola, te diste pal y llegaste a casa, probaste ostras insalubres, entonces entiendes. te escocotaste, te rompieron el corazón, te mataron las ganas, comiste errores indelebles, te enfermaste lejos de un hospital, perdiste amigos, casi mueres, quizás mueres, por eso te puede pasar en casa tranquilo viendo netflix y comiendo popcorn. así que ponte a arreglar las carreteras del mañana. come lo que te dé la gana y a la hora que sea. cuéntale del abuso a tu madre. sal del clóset y graba videos (aunque te acribillen en santurce).
enfrenta al gobernador. cocina para tu corillo y que sea bien enorme: un pueblo fuera de un pueblo. múdate (pero vuelve). vivimos bajo el fascismo. ¿crees que puedes evitar el dolor? defiende tu alegría. reaprópriate de tus recursos. ocupa todos los edificios y, cuando vengan a desahuciar, diles que quiénes son con sus dictaduras mundanas, y en serio, ¿quiénes son? si tomaste el camino de la cautela, igual te explotaron, te humillaron en el banco, te plancharon los biles, te tradujeron, te escupieron en el café, te fallecieron naturalmente, y eso que fuiste bueno toda la vida. no pierdes nada que no tienes. vivimos con tiempo robado. (Raquel Salas Rivera) THE INDEPENDENCE (OF PUERTO RICO) for Sandy
our enemies sharpen our sadness and bury it in our desire to fight back. if you ever loved against should (despite regret's hangover); if you took the light risk and swam where you saw no bottom; if you drank until you cried for your abuser; if you left them; if you avoided the doctor and went to the beach; if you voted against your parents; if you broke a simple rule, stole toilet paper, ran the stop sign that said coca cola, if you had a few and went home, ate insalubrious oysters, then you understand. you busted your head, they broke your heart, they killed your yearning, you made indelible mistakes, you got sick far from the hospital, you lost friends, you almost died, maybe you died, but that can happen to you at home watching netflix and eating popcorn. so get to work fixing tomorrow's roads. eat what you want at all hours. tell your mother about the abuse. leave the closet and record videos (even if they shoot you down in santurce). confront the governor. cook for your corillo and may it be immense: a people outside a people. move away (but come back).
we live under fascism. do you think you can avoid pain? defend your joy. re-appropriate your resources. occupy all the buildings and, when they come evict you, tell them they can't, who are they with their mundane dictatorships, seriously, who are they? if you took the cautious path, if they still exploited you, they humiliated you at the bank, they ironed your bills, they translated you, they spit in your coffee, they gave you a natural death and you were good your whole life. you won't lose what you don't have. we live on stolen time. (written in both languages by the author)