By Connie Ramírez
Sábado, Early AM It starts en la cocina, Los ruidos y los booms. Dishes dancing in the sink, And a raging loud vacuum. No use in sleeping in today, “Hoy mero es cuando se limpia.” As we drag ourselves to meet, Jefita shouts, “¡Buenos días!” I smell bologna con huevito, La canela con el café– Breakfast & tortillas fill us, Mamá wants us ready & fed. As we eat, she arranges the pots, The loud clanking of sártenes. A load is thrown en el guasher: Toallas, sábanas y manteles. Pop peaces out to el garaje, He says there’s much to do afuera. A’ma walks over to blast la radio Sonoras, cumbias y norteñas. No cleaning can be done Sin música para escuchar. Los quehaceres y los ritmos, Para limpiar, cantar y bailar.
The Songs I Still Sing No words left to say… But perhaps a song to sing, Solamente para ti. Only to imagine you Papá, Caressing the guitarra strings. A song that we chose– Una de Jiménez, o Gabriel, De Lara, o de Grever, Que cantábamos, — Tú y yo… Over, and over I recall The rancheras, And the boleros, And the way things used to be. But the sunset came too quickly, And disappeared too soon, Before the last song was sung, Before the late evening moon. The songs of ayer won’t ever fade, Your guitar’s strings I strum, And your old records still play.
Connie Ramírez is a writer and visual artist from the Chicagoland area, she was born in East Chicago, IN. She is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant father and a Tejano mother. She currently resides in San Antonio, Texas. She has studied Spanish and English literature in both her undergraduate and graduate studies. She is an alum of Purdue University and Saint Xavier University (Chicago). She has taught English, Spanish, art, and creative writing and has been a reading interventionist. She has written several essays, poems, and short stories in both languages. Her work has been previously published by The Acentos Review and will soon appear in LabelMeLatin.com.