**Put together from workshops with students from Los Sures for a final performance project and so is meant to be spoken by an ensemble.
Where I Am From
(For the People of Los Sures)
Where I am from the
concrete is cracked
And the English is broken
Fire hydrants blast
And boleros blast
While kids run, jump and
dance in the street
There are no trash cans
around
So the trash stays at my
feet
The smell of cigarettes
fills hallways
But it does not linger too
long
Because it is covered by
the scent of
Arroz con habichuelas
Queadillas , mole,
enchiladas
Salchichon
Albondigón
Mofongo
Mangu
Arepas, Empanands
Pastilitos for a dollar
(cough) $1.50
Really? Dannng
Where I am from salons
are filled with
Chismosa’s whispers
Under clouds of hairspray
and fumes
And hair is blown out
And color is drowned out
Curls are straightened out
(One person touches an actor with curly hair’s hair) “Pelo malo”
Where I am from the
streets are loud
With cars honking
Music playing all hours
of the day
Viejos and Viejas sit
outside, dominos, betting
And the guys on the
corner keep sweating
Every girl that passes
(Actors line up and transform quickly into male personas)
“Pssst. Psst. Psst”
“Aye, Ma.”
“You’re beautiful”
“You so sexy”
“Daaaamn girl”
(The girl ignores them)
“Man, forget you then,
you ain’t even that pretty anyway!”
Where I am from sometimes
can be quiet
And you feel sort of safe
But then get creeped out
Because you were told
you’d get raped
If you’re out late
You’ll get jumped
You’ll get stopped
And you’ll get frisked
Where I’m from walking
down the street
Can be a risk
And danger lurks from
every corner
Making the fun afraid to
come out
But it‘s only sometimes
Yea but sometimes is
enough
(Actors all agree)
And if you are lucky
You can make it out of
here in one piece
Before cops throw you down
in the street
Or you get down with gangs
on these streets
Or before the drugs get
to you
Or the drinking
Or you start thinking
that
“If you are Black, Brown,
Latino
You won’t amount to
anything” thinking
Where I am from
My dreams are not my
mother’s dreams
But she wished that they
were
Because she had dreams
too
But they didn’t turn out
the way she hoped
They were washed away
with dirty dish washing soap
She cleaned homes that
were not her own
And folded clothes that
were not her own
And helped raised other
people’s kids
So she could raise her
own
My mother has dreams for
me
That were her dreams
But my real dream is to
be…
(The Actors state their dreams)
And I know getting there
is not easy
We’ve got debts to pay
And not just ours, but
our parents
We’ll inherit them
And these bills and this
rent that
Keeps getting hire
Become chains
And all of a sudden we
are slaves
Where I am from
We become what we fought
not to
This place we come from
Is being taken away
Capitalism is Imperialism
of Modern day
Gentrification wiping the
brown out
“Cleaning up” our streets
New Thai place around the
corner and Vegan eats
And other restaurants and
clothing stores
That I can’t even afford
Where I am from stories were
written on the walls
They were painted on the
walls
But now they’ve been
breaking down our walls
To build new ones
That we cannot afford to
tell our stories on
Or live our stories in
Where I am from
I call home
We call home
This is home
And it has always been
Where I am from
And no one can change
that
