Where I am From

**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