The Poetry of Maria Morales: Where I’m From…
Mi Gente… Today we welcome a new voice to our website….
Maria Rodriguez-Morales is a Brooklyn born Nuyorican Poet and published writer. A member of the NYC Latina Writers group, she has performed at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Bowery Poetry Club. Lolita Lounge and Preguntas Arts Cafe. She facilitates a weekly poetry workshop and monthly open mic for inner city youth at the South Queens Boys and Girls Club. She is a married mother of four boys.
To find out more about the NYC Latina Writers group visit them on their Facebook page by clicking here!
Where I’m From
I know where I’m at/Brooklyn bred /by way of East New York
A Puerto Rican/Nuyorican/Latina/married /mother of four
But tell me Where I’m from/ oblige me a bit more
That rich port/that we’ve been taught/ Christopher Columbus founded
The land where africanos were enslaved and bounded/
Where woman were scarce/ in a land so rich/
Tainas y Africanas were added to the mix/
And thus this beautiful spectrum of color/
Los blanquitos/negritos/ my brown sisters and brothers
Descendants transcend cultural boundaries/
They transport me to my past/
I have come to ask/ almost afraid to admit
That I was once immune to my history/ and its indigenous inhabitants
I’ve searched for answers/ in lessons/ that schools didn’t teach
Two stepping to Salsa beats/front to back/side to side/ the rhythm moving my feet
Hector Lavoe/ Willie Colon/ El Gran Combo
Lechones/bendiciones/y banos de flores
The Saturday/ before the Puerto Rican Day Parade/
Cars of all types/would line up Broadway/
El ritmo de mi pais /blaring from every speaker/
Horns honking/flags waving/mi isla bonita
And I felt alive/my heart overflowing with pride/
But once the sea of flags /that lined Fifth Ave/ were all gone/
A part of me died/
My identity was compromised/ by MTV/Fly jewelry/dope kicks/French tips
And yet I didn’t know shit/
Who were our heroes/our influential peoples/I wanted to know/
This is when I discovered Pedro Pietri/Tato Laviera/Miguel Pinero
Jose Campeche/Piri Thomas/Lolita Lebron
Just some of the Boricuas who paved the way/for some of my faves today
Caridad de La Luz/Flaco and Lemon Andersen
Years have passed/I am a mother of four boys/who will become four men/
And I am determined to teach them/what I didn’t know then/
Its a shame/nowadays/ these kids know more/about Pop Culture than OUR culture
And the history/ of our people/ that have opened the doors/
I have a personal mission myself/for my sons/
And when I am done/ they will know where they’re at/but also where they are from.