Hasta Suena La Campana

To The Beat of the Creole (Al Compas Del Criollismo p. 13)

Conserve the tradition

Always the same suffering

Is the life in the gutter

And to die of starvation

To the beat of the Creole

Old, enclosed, neighborhoods,

Barrios Altos, Chirimoyo;

Limas most Creole,

The most select in Peru.

From your solemn past

And with clear inspiration

You impose a mission

That you give, no longer sell

And can only pretend to

Conserve the tradition.

In the sixteenth century

You drained your purse

Commending the Spanish,

Slave to every viceroy.

Passed the time, it was the law

Forged in your heroism:

Century and a half of civic-mindedness

Your children sing and write,

And fix, how they live,

Always the same suffering.

Poor neighborhoods, always lacking,

Neighborhoods crying out for justice

For the paradox they call

Barrios Altos…barrios “Altos”…

Rise up, get to work,

Look what happens in Ancon

And you will see your inspration

Stained of “whiskey and soda”

While all of your life

Is the life of the gutter.

They are the court of a king

Worse than Philip II,

The world is just a dollar

And exploitation is law.

Enslaving the flock

Hiding in your song.

More if you sing of rebellion

Well, you can –so close-

Becomea Felipe Pinglo Alva

To die of starvation.

Barrios Altos of misery

With a tradition of creating orphans,

Salt of your begging

And show your serious face.

Who gives you the Iberian “gentlemanhood?”

Who gives you imperialism?

Come with me, right now,

And Our Revolution

Builds a new nation

To the beat of the Creole?...

In honor of Peru's fiestas patrias, I have poorly translated another poem de Nicomedes Santa Cruz. A poem of strength in the face of poverty and racism.

This poem puts many ideas into words, thoughts I have thought and embodies many of the reasons why I am so attracted to Salinas and Peru. Both areas are poor and struggle finding a stronghold of mondern ideas of success without losing their tradition. Both provide a community, a flare for life, and a type of person I have not found anywhere else. Hence, my desire to live in both places.

I just returned from a information gathering trip to Salinas...what I learned is that I will be living with a fellow teacher in a 2 bed room apt, and thankfully, he is doing the looking since I still have to coach at the gym for two more weeks, I have an appointment to finalize everything for setting me up to work at Alisal on the 18th of august, and hopefully when I drive up for that appointment, I will also be moving. As for work, my former vice principal, from my first year in AmeriCorps, has been appointed principal at another school in the district has offered me a job in the after school program, and I will be using my connections at FP to get days subbing as well....siento correcto, todos los pedasos de la rompecabaeza estan cayando en su propia lugar.

Random factoid: I ate the 3 best meals of my life while in Salinas, technically I ate them in Chular.

La Cultura Cura