A Mexican Is Made Of This

 

A Mexican Is Made Of This

 

 

A Mexican is made of song

That moves the soul to dance

With sprinkles of the laughter

That grows deep in the heart.

 

Add to the mixture hugs and tears

And humility galore;

There’s faith and pride and valor

And a dash or two of hope.

 

A Mexican’s a dreamer

Who holds a reservoir of jest;

Family ties come made of steel;

May tenth every mama is queen.

 

To make a Mexican the cosmos

Lassoed the rainbow whole.

They come in handsome brown

And yet in all the colors Angels do.

 

A Mexican is no delicate purebred:

A hearty hybrid, tough and free,

He springs from multi-scapes

Where Venus reigns laissez-faire.

 

Spanish proud and Indian stoic

Comprise some flavor there

But unlike the hearty maize stock

The hybrid from violence comes.

 

Piñatas, mariachis, romantic evolution;

Catholic virgins, charro dandies

Their land a gift of paradise mosaics

And always room for childish joys.

 

To make a Mexican it takes much spirit,

Rainbows, bronze, backbone, butterflies.

If rainbows are in short supply,

You can always improvise.

J.C. Salazar

J.C. Salazar grew up in Houston, where he still resides, the child of immigrant parents. He earned degrees in English (BA), linguistics (MS), and literature (MA) from the University of Houston and UH-Clear Lake. He also completed doctoral courses in English at UH. J.C. is a lifelong educator and community activist, who loves great stories, language, and writing. Of Dreams & Thorns is his debut novel, inspired by his immigrant family and community. He hopes you love reading it as much as he loved writing it. "states of unitedness" is his collection of poems in which the author expresses the need for all human beings to love one another and our responsibility to care for each other while also striving to reach our full potential.