AMOR NEGRO
Originally published for Dear Karla
by Karla Mendoza
¡Sazón, sabor, un aleluya!
flavor, taste, a hallelujah
A hallelujah to be Black
¡Alabanza!
Salsa, merengue, landó
impossible without our Black ancestors
who danced even when the white man
created hell on earth
They whispered a prayer to God
maybe She heard their cries
“Seremos libres, seremos libres”
And they told stories as they too learned to roll their R’s.
¿Y de donde vengo yo?
Yo vengo de la tierra roja
from the bright colors of hope
I come from the day they thought
they could stop the drums
but our ingenuity won,
and the Cajón was born
the sound of resilience carried on
Y por que Dios quiso
yo nací negra
like the night full of stars
Curls that run like the rivers to the oceans
glowing skin in the sun
Negra like the ink that writes a new story
bleeding words no else dared to say
Negra like the energy of galaxies
renewing our souls into stars.
Y si nadie mas te dijo hoy
If no else dared to say it today:
Negra
fire.
soft.
powerful.
life.
Todo el mundo brilla per que estas aquí.
So to you, the Afro diaspora of Latin America.
I say you belong, you are seen. you are loved
you make us who we are.
And to my abuelita, the wash-woman,
I have many songs to sing to you[1]
And to my abuelito, the guitarist and driver.
I wish you could see all the places I’ve been.
Así que si – Negra soy.
Con sabor y esperanza
I’m still here.
¡Alabanza!
—
[1] Hughes, Langston. “A Song to a Negro Wash-woman”. The collected poems of Langston Hughes. Vintage, 2020.
Karla Mendoza (she/her/ella) was born in Lima, Peru, currently residing on the stolen lands of the Miami, Kickapoo, and Erie Peoples in Northwest Ohio. Karla is a writer, poet, activist, storyteller, grassroots theologian, and organic intellectual. Most of her work has been focused on the intersection of identity, faith, activism, and antiracist discipleship. Currently Karla is the host of El Cafecito with Karla where she interviews her friends in organic conversation.
Most of all, Karla loves to laugh, dance and listen to Afro-Peruvian music, and being a connector of peoples.
