We are proud to showcase today the spoken word poetry of our fellow Rebelde, Rodrigo Sánchez-Chavarria. That would be @rscspokenword on Twitter.
¡Que vivan los Rebeldes!
Indigenous People Day Poem
Today 518 years ago a man got lost
And found a ticket to fame
se persino con la santa maria, la niña y la pinta
and left with god
traveled oceans
crossed timeline
towards the end of his world
lost years of human life
All to discover nothing.
landed on occupied land
and stole it
appropriated it
raped it
and called it HIS PA NIO LA
All in the name of the holy 1st world
he placed the blade on each side of their shoulders
anointed the soldiers metal
and declare holy war
treated natives as cattle
slaughtered butchered, conquered
it doesn't matter what noun you use
massacre still has the same effect.
and he continued on…
in the name of precious metal and spices
Enslaved thousands
to give them diseases
inject them with greed and rabies
expose them to a religion that
calls them
savages
murderers
ignorant
not human
and he continued on…
erased their way of life by force
enforced their ways
brick by brick
layer by layer
until their buildings replaced ours
hoping we forget
but we havent..
518 years and counting..
we have been speaking
you never chose to listen..
u gave us second class citizenship
yet you never chose to listen
you called our meeting a cultural exchange
but you never chose to listen
you gave us names because you couldnt pronounce ours
and you are still not listening
so we keep speaking
we keep asking…
Why do we build statues,
name avenues,
throw parades
for a man who got lost and discovered nothing?
-rsc
[…] I sat there quietly seething, struck dumb and mute by the fact that Columbia, British Columbia, the District of Columbia and Columbus, Ohio all bear the name of a man whose acts led directly and indirectly to the murder and massacre of millions. Where was that part of his legacy discussed? […]
[…] from local and national governments, for Mexican American Studies Departments and Curriculum, for Indigenous People Day and whole host of other issues, we are teaching our children that they have value, that their […]