Ode to the Diasporican (pa’ mi gente)
Mira a mi cara Puertorriqueña Mi pelo vivo Mis manos morenas Mira a mi corazón que se llena de orgullo Y di me que no soy Boricua.
Some people say that I’m not the real thing Boricua, that is cause I wasn’t born on the enchanted island cause I was born on the mainland north of Spanish Harlem cause I was born in the Bronx… some people think that I’m not bonafide cause my playground was a concrete jungle cause my Río Grande de Loiza was the Bronx River cause my Fajardo was City Island my Luquillo Orchard Beach and summer nights were filled with city noises instead of coquis and Puerto Rico was just some paradise that we only saw in pictures.
What does it mean to live in between What does it take to realize that being Boricua is a state of mind a state of heart a state of soul…
¡Mira!
No nací en Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico nacío en mi.
Mira a mi cara Puertorriqueña Mi pelo vivo Mis manos morenas Mira a mi corazón que se llena de orgullo Y di me que no soy Boricua.
By Mariposa (a.k.a. María Teresa Fernández)
