Categoría: Inglés

Resistance Through Writing and Art

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Translated  by Marvin Najarro My written expression was born out of my lack of verbal expression. I have never been able to communicate with humans; worlds and erupting volcanoes inhabit inside me, but on the outside I am an iceberg; coldness in itself. It is hard for me to approach people, I am not shy, on the contrary, I am bold, fluent with words thanks to my Alma Mater; the marketplace where I grew up selling ice creams. That experience taught me to go out and make a living at a fast pace; shyness does not help to survive. So, thanks…

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The Homeland of the Undocumented

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 Translated  by Marvin Najarro After the fence, the homeland becomes a perennial longing. The undocumented know this more than anyone else. It becomes that old letter of paper worn out by so much folding and unfolding. It is in the evocation of rainy days, of the milpa growing, of fresh chipilín flowers and the aroma of coffee cooked in a clay pot. The fog of the land left behind on the other side of the fence crosses the borders and seeps through the crevices in the windows of the skyscrapers where the generations who had to emigrate, because in their own…

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Social Networks Progressives

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 Translated  by Marvin Najarro Latin America is infested with formidable social networks progressives; some with a thicker skin claim to be revolutionaries. As in times past, when paper put up with everything that was written on it, now it is the social networks. They are the catalyst par excellence of our human mediocrity. They say that anyone has social networks nowadays, but no, not anyone, only those who have access to a computer, a smart phone or a tablet, those who have the economy to pay for internet at home, the people, the hoi polloi, do not even have access to…

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Dignifying the Arrabal

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Translated  by Katrina Hassan Historically, in the classist and racist societies, the arrabal or the “hood” is where all the evils of the world collide. This is why, whoever comes from the hood, has to be a thief, abuser, racketeer, rapist, murderer and every other accusation that a person can think of. To be rid of these labels is a titanic feat. The stigma is part of the arrabal DNA. To be from the hood is an impediment for getting a good job, to study and to have interpersonal relationships outside of your own kind. People view those coming from the…

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The Assyrian Man and My Bamboo Sticks

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Translated  by Marvin Najarro I am trying to find bamboo sticks to tie down the sunflower stems which are growing and are already bending over. I walk along the shelves full of pots with summer varieties, flamboyant colors, different types of yellow, and the green bottle or green avocado of the leaves. Fuchsia and pitaya colors and bright orange ones. Older adults are hired temporarily to take care for the flowers in the nursery; they water them, remove the dry leaves and carefully place the flowers on the shelves. The young workers are in the topsoil and fertilizer area carrying and…

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Frida’s Immensity Encompasses and Illuminates All

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This essay belongs to The Insurrectionists Women series Translated  by Katrina Hassan Many critics considered Frida Kahlo a naïve artist. They undervalued her artistic technique. Frida overcame the passage of time and her art travelled the world over as if it became small enough for the palm of her hand. This limitless woman dared to resist. She questioned, rebelled and said no to wasting away, inert. The pain Frida felt did not rob her of expressing what was in her soul. Against all odds, Frida painted, painted and painted. She showed us, with her naïve art, the beauty of simple souls.…

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The Cuban Doctors in Guatemala, A Breath of Fresh Air

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Translated  by Marvin Najarro In the midst of a rotten system, plagued with corruption and impunity that corrodes the foundations of Guatemalan society and take with it the people’s lives by the thousand, there is, like a breath of fresh air, the medical brigade that shoulders the most vulnerable, because it is present where the national doctors are not. And they are the Cuban doctors, willing to exalt the mission of saving lives.   A bunch of criminals, who place their puppets in any sitting government, have taken on the task of plundering the state’s resources which has caused people to give…

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