Judy Baca, Danza de la Tierra, at judybaca.com

A Toda Madre* 

Orale ese! Orale esa! Orale gentes! Do we walk softly/too softly through this world?

Our Brown hands/were torn from the soil/and inserted into the concrete/the asphalt/the hot wires… and cold hearts of el urbano.

The lights are everywhere/but we cannot see. The heat envelops us/and yet we are frozen.

The sound never stops/yet we cannot hear.

But you know what?  We are a people of love/

a people motivated by the heart revealed by Che

— que nuestra revolucion es un gran abrazo por la gente.

Yes, we walk softly but ever towards the earth/ever upwards/hasta al cielo/and ever flowing toward the sweet waters that cleanse our spirit.

Can you see it?  Can you feel it?  A Toda Madre: un futuro so finely

sculpted by the past/Un Nuevo Mundo shaped by abuel@s/

nurtured by children/un milagro created by endless Resistencia.

A world of infinite song/With a magical lyric that can unite us/that can give us new strength/that can reconnect us to a life/ stolen by empire/tortured by lies/disfigured by the myth of…

The Great White/Omnipotent White/All-Knowing White

Pero, the Brown always flows/it moves/dancing arabesques/caresses so gently/so firme. And carries the mythical prayer/that we will endure/we will unleash the sound that echoes Aztlan: Hasta La Vida… Siempre. 

*Madre has countless meanings, with a toda madre an exclamation that means the best. Nothing better. If I’m asked how I feel and I’m doing great, I might say a toda madre.