Carmen Padilla

WRIT 2
Una vida ilegal
The illegal life

I am going to begin our song

I hope you dont like it.
Its about the strong
And undocumented.

This is the tale

So many have told.
Despite their different trails,
Their past hometowns and families,
they all sold.

La Reina de Los ngeles,

Is home to Heriberto,
Who works in la costura
For a Chinese man downtown.

La estatua de Libertad y su ciudad,

Is home to Maricela
Who works como sirvienta
Pa la gringa que no le da importancia.

Sus hermanos e hermanas gritan:

Porque Maricela y Heriberto?
Porque van pal norte?

Fall 2015

Padilla 2
All vive el sufrimiento,
All viva hambre y sed!

Heriberto gana lo mnimo

La costura le acaba las ganas,
No es lo suficiente para Gernimo
El que viene a colectar la renta.

Maricela earns less than minimum wage,

But still she works to please.
One look at the gringas face
And she sees the deporting disease.

Why does Heriberto and Maricela

Choose to live this way?
Far from Guadalajara,
And making little pay.

They work the job,

The gringo doesnt want to,
Or so they say.
They let out a painful sob
It doesnt have to be this way.

Obama pushed for immigration reform

Yet we are still illegal
And scared of the ICE uniform

Maricela lives in fear

Padilla 3
Scared of El Hielo
While her jefa does not fear
Employing ilegales bajo su techo

Why am I illegal?
Heriberto questions,
When it is El Chino
Untouched by the labor laws around?

Lets rise up my people

It is time to seek new ways
To topple feeble
Enforcement of los labor leys

Aque trabajar como los humanos

Que somos, porque ilegal
No es nadie, si de Dios
Todos venemos.

In a country of honesty
These are the lies.
They must work under the table,
In order to provide.

Padilla 4