Pull out the paraphernalia, Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner. The Battle at Puebla, Puebla México fought in 1862 with an eventual French Occupation of México was just a reminder for what has been a long and tenuous struggle for freedom and liberation against repressive regimes that Mexicanas/os have endured for centuries. In 1862, Mexicanos were fighting for their economic and continued cultural existence against imperialistic forces dead set on controlling the world. This battle where a ragtag group of campesinos decided to exercise their collective agency should serve as an inspiration for Latinas/os to further develop our collective agency. It should serve as a prototype for how oppressed communities can fight back. The lesson that they leave Chicanas/os is that only through struggle will we achieve equality.
Our ancestors engaged in warfare centuries ago on the cornfields in Meso América in the 15th century against a powerful Spanish Army, the birth place of mestizaje. This was followed by 300 years of Spanish colonialism where indigenous cultures were dismantled and our stories were buried beneath mother earth. Mother earth nurtured and healed the many wounds, providing the succorance that would result in the birth of México as a free and independent nation in 1810. 1862 was just another reminder that freedom has a price. What has not yet been achieved is the erosion of our collective spiritual energy.
What we cannot afford to lose what is the core of our spiritual essence, the human dignity and self-respect that human beings deserve. Cinco de Mayo is a reminder to open up closed shutters that blind us to the realities of social life. Our humanity continues to be chipped away as we nonchalantly sit idly by. The Denver community needs to rise to the occasion. Perhaps, we should not only celebrate, but use this day as a clarion call for action.
Today Chicanas/os are in a war of attrition—a war that uses psychological guerilla warfare. For contemporary Raza, it consists of continued belligerent attempts by the power structure to chisel away at all aspects of our community and cultural life. During wars of attrition, the enemy wears down their opponents through continuous strategic attacks that take nefarious forms. The grinding down of our spirits and the oppressive nature of the dominant culture upon Mexicana and Chicano communities is a strong force. The DACA controversy is a good example of a battle in the war of attrition as it tears away at the emotional and spiritual energy of young people who live with perpetual anxiety, stress and fear of deportation. They also live with trauma. The question we must now face is what are we going to do about it?
Our spirit needs to be jolted to re-awaken and remind us of a time when we stood up just like our ancestors did against despotic forces. The Chicana/o Movement was born out of struggle. What do we stand to lose through inaction—except political seats in Washington where government is at a standstill as an autocrat continues to cause havoc in our communities. Waiting to reclaim Congress in 2020 should be the vision for our political leaders; however, there is should a contemporary community mission to struggle now. We should not be boondoggled by false promises that we will regain what is currently being sliced away through a war of attrition against our communities. We should not sit idly by as Mexicanas/os are detained at the San Diego Border by a federal government that refuses to grant them asylum or refugee statuses. We should not sit idly by as our children continue to suffer and fail in public schools.
What we cannot afford to lose what is the core of our spiritual essence, the human dignity and self-respect that human beings deserve. Cinco de Mayo is a reminder to open up closed shutters that blind us to the realities of social life. Our humanity continues to be chipped away as we nonchalantly sit idly by. The Denver community needs to rise to the occasion. Perhaps, we should not only celebrate, but use this day as a clarion call for action. In the past, our ancestors lost land, today we are losing ground. What appeared to be the continuation of the Chicano Movement through the activism of the Immigrant Rights Movement has been truncated by federal immigration officials that have been given their orders to hunt down undocumented immigrants and send them back home. I say that we shout el grito de Dolores the same way our ancestors did on many occasions when tyranny overshadowed freedom. We can be victorious in the War of Attrition!
Cinco de Mayo
by Dr. Ramón Del Castillo
Mexican flags floating
in an abyss of urban pollution.
Corona beer
gushing onto calles
like Noah’s flood
taquitos de barbacoa
musica del rancho
folklorico para los jovenes
el grito de dolores
muchos colores
of mixed up groups
wondering if the doors
are truly open or if it’s time
to visit the past
wave American flags
at half-mast
as a mirage of collective images
opens old sores
reminding us
of power mongers
of stolen land
a broken treaty
being anesthetized
by modern day pulque
hops at their best
shots of tequila
to soften the pains of oppression
supported by corporate irresponsibility
sweetheart contracts
signed by tio tacos
in places
where cheap labor and
political favors
become broken promises
as masses of people
pawns, transformed
into tricksters and teporochos
on both sides of a fictitious border
moan in agony, while
political slogans
watered down with mescal
where a worm laying
on the bottom of the bottle
eats away at
what is left
of our political consciousness;
salsa has replaced ketchup
as America’s number one condiment
while Mexicanos accused of replacing
American workers
die in barren deserts
on sojourns to work
in maquilas
owned by profiteers
transported by coyotes
who have replaced “el grito”
with howling noises
at midnight, as brown people
become experts at doing the limbo rock
mixed with una cumbia
while crossing las fronteras
con puertas cerradas.
It will all pass
La Raza will go back
to menial jobs on Monday morning
praying at mass on Sundays
making the sign of the cross
when they pass the church.
It’s Cinco de Mayo.
The aroma will disintegrate.
The streets will be cleaned up
when it is over. Revolutionary spirits will
be tucked away
as Mexican flags
are neatly folded
placed into old wooden chests
until next year.
Truths will be hidden
behind the backdrop
of street theatre
as city dumpsters transform
what was once Mexican land
into the red, white
and musical blues
of a people whose muse
will be laid to rest
into a coffin, only to rise
next year when “el grito”
seeps out of the decrypted wooden box
shouting liberation
for a historical soul unwilling to die.
Dr. Ramón Del Castillo is an Independent Journalist. ©5-1-2018.
Poem/Dr. Ramón Del Castillo ©5-25-2002
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