Hispanic Heritage

34 years ago today I was born in Managua Nicaragua. I was born weeks after the triumph of a Communist revolution from which I was named. Weeks before turning 3 we immigrated to the United States settling in North East Washington D.C. I grew up around black kids. We then moved to Langley Park, MD. Believe it or not we were one the first Hispanic families in that neighborhood. Sounds crazy considering that today it is 99.9% Salvadorean.

Clemenza Explains It All

Today I thinking about love. I think about love a lot. Not the emotion, but the notion of love. A scene from the Godfather came to mind. When the Corleone's go to war, Clemenza has to cook for the men. Michael is on the phone with Kay. She tells him she loves him, and Michael refuses to say it back. Clemenza pulls his card and teaches him how to make sauce. I started thinking about the 3 most important things I learned from the capo regime.

How to cook.

How to kill.

Never forget the cannoli.

The King of New York

Last week Hip Hop erupted into a frenzy behind six little words, when Kendrick Lamar proclaimed, "I'm the King of New York" He also called out all of the rappers in his class. This was a genius move on his part. He lit a white hot fire under a bunch of guys that have been waiting for an opportunity to return to relevance. Only a couple of the guys hat he actually called out dared to respond. The rest of the contenders were trying to restore the pride of the rightful birthplace of Hip Hop.

Lost in a sea of people

Going in circles
Frantically searching for a space to fit me
One two three four times
Flight or flight kicking in

This is for the birds
As I make one last futile attempt
I see my opportunity
I don't want to be, but I need to be

Heart beating
The commotion is too much to ignore
I see faces.. in slow motion
Some happy.. some sad

Things don't matter.. people matter
I know you.. you know me
Where are you? Where is the door?
There you are.. Bye

She warned me there would be blisters

Early this morning I got up and got ready to go for a jog with my running partner Marco. We agreed to meet at 7 am. I got ready and I text him, but no reply. I knew that he was going to be out late with family, so I figured he got in late and was still asleep. At 8 he replied and we decided to go out for a run at that moment.

Art? What's That?

Picasso, Rembrandt and DaVinci

Paint? What's that?

Mozart, Bach and Tchaikovsky

Music? What's that?

Dondi, Seen, and Disco Dan

Clean walls? What's that?

Dre, Premier, and Dilla

Beats? What's that?

Biggie, Pac, and Nas

Rhymes? What's that?

Bruce, Chuck and Yip

Discipline? What's that?

Getz, Brubeck, and Satchmo

Jazz? What's that?

Art. 

Chances Are

Have you ever had an opportunity but were scared to take it? You didn't take a chance to see how things would come out? It's time to start rolling the dice. Why do we always stay with what we know, what is safe? Nothing ever got better by sticking with what we know. If I never took a chance and tried my hand at this crazy writing thing, you wouldn't be reading this right now.