AmeRican by Tato Laviera we gave birth to a new generation AmeRican, broader than lost gold never touched, hidden

inside the puerto rican mountains. we gave birth to a new generation, AmeRican, it includes everything imaginable you-name-it-we-got-it society. we gave birth to a new generation, AmeRican salutes all fol lores, european, indian, blac , spanish, and anything else compatible! AmeRican, AmeRican, singing to composer pedro flores" palm trees high up in the universal s y# sweet soft spanish dan$as gypsies moving lyrics la espanola cascabelling presence always singing at our side# beating %ibaro modern troubadours crying guitars romantic continental bolero love songs# across forth and across bac bac across and forth bac forth across and bac and forth our trips are wal ing bridges# it all dissolved into itself, the attempt was truly made, the attempt was truly absorbed, digested, we spit out the poison, we spit out the malice, we stand, affirmative in action, to reproduce a broader answer to the marginality that gobbled us up abruptly# AmeRican, wal ing plena-rhythms in new yor , strutting beautifully alert, alive, many turning eyes wondering, admiring# defining myself my own way any way many ways, Am e Rican, with the big R and the accent on the i# li e the soul gliding tal of gospel boogie music# spea ing new words in spanglish tenements, fast tongue moving street corner que corta tal being invented at the insistence of a smile#

AmeRican,

AmeRican,

AmeRican,

AmeRican, AmeRican,

AmeRican,

abounding inside so many ethnic english people, and out of humanity, we blend and mi& all that is good# integrating in new yor and defining our own destino, our own way of life, defining the new america, humane america, admired america, loved america, harmonious america, the world in peace, our energies collectively invested to find other civili$ations, to touch 'od, further and further, to dwell in the spirit of divinity# yes, for now, for i love this, my second land, and i dream to ta e the accent from the altercation, and be proud to call myself american, in the u.s. sense of the word, AmeRican, America# ()*+,-

AmeRican, AmeRican,

AmeRican,

.edro /lores is a .uerto Rican composer of popular romantic songs. La espanola cascabelling is 0panish for 0panish (feminine form- covering themselves. 1ibaro refers to the .uerto Rican farmer who lives in the mountains. The %ibaros have a particular musical style. .lena-rhythms refers to African-.uerto Rican fol lore music and dance. 2ue corta is 0panish for that cuts. 3estino! 0panish for destiny.