Who I Be

Who I be?             Who you be?
Who we be?       We be I, Singular I
Now the essence of Los Africanos and that of Los Indios run within me
So when you call me Spanish, all of my
purity seems to vanish
cause that is not Who I be
So don’t refer to me
With words that blur the trueness to my identity
Defining me by a colonizer’s language
Disregarding my family lineage and my ancestral heritage
Now I be the rhythm of the conga
Played to an internal Bomba
Extending from Nigeria from a culture called Yoruba
I be the misplaced Coqui
Snatched away from my existence tree
Identified to have died but somehow have survived
I be the sugar cane and coffee
Of a land which was once cultivated to grow plenty
I be Earth, Wind, Fire and Water
In no particular order – rolled into one
And I be Guasabara – Attack Boricua Attack!
Still dodging the dog and ducking the gun
And I be Earth music, protest music like Hip Hop y Plena
in syncopation with the Sun
So don’t mis-define me
Insult me … disrespect me
Intentionally or unintentionally
Reshaping my nationality
Raping the humanity within me
Romanticizing a brutal history
Confusing our offspring
Cutting off their wings
So they can’t fly high and rely on their own
introspection
To make those natural connections
Now the essence of Los Africanos and that of Los Indios run within me
So when you call me Spanish all of my purity seems to vanish
cause that is not who I be.

By Ray Ramirez