i come from whispers of Venezuelan lullabies
y las stories que viene del corazon de mi mama.
the annual celebracion de Corpus Christi is a
constant reminder de la amarilla, azul, y sangre roja
coursing through my veins.
when i was younger,
yo baile durante horas con mi papa
and sung at the top of my lungs
until the last bit of oxygen
en mi pulmones deteriorated.
mi cultura is the incarnation of who i am,
it inhabits every cell en mi cuerpo,
and never will i ever consider
disintegrating the ashes on which mis ancestros
were founded upon.
it's the embodiment of my children, and their children;
it's mi vida y mi alma,
and no one could ever tear down the walls
of this Venezuelan throne.
to those who've experienced discrimination and segregation toward their ethnicity; to those who've always seemed encaged in their identity; to those who never thought they'd ever experience freedom - don't let anyone ever tell you to erase your culture. it is the blood running through your veins, it's the air in which you breathe - allow yourselves to be free in your own skin. embrace who you are because, in the end, it's all you have.