this past weekend i went to the Fandango Fronterizo, an event where Son Jarocho is played on both sides of the border in “friendship park” and near the lighthouse in Playas de Tijuana.
this beautiful event brought a piece of light to this somewhat lifeless area on the U.S. side as X-number of migra patrol the area like vigilantes. though i may say, i was a bit surprised with the migra: they didn’t check id’s, didn’t hassle anyone, and even let me in with my dog, Junior.
i have visited this place before, but this time around the words of Gloria Anzaldua from Borderlands/La Frontera came to mind:
Wind tugging at my sleeve
feet sinking into the sand
I stand at the edge where earth touches ocean
where the two overlap
a gentle coming together
at other times and places a violent clash. …
Miro el mar atacar
la cerca en Border Field Park
con sus buchones de agua,
an Easter Sunday resurrection
of the brown blood in my veins.
Oigo el llorido del mar, el respiro del aire,
my heart surges to the beat of the sea.
In the gray haze of the sun
the gulls’ shrill cry of hunger,
the tangy smell of the sea seeping into me. …
1,950 mile-long open wound
dividing a pueblo, a culture,
running down the length of my body,
staking fence rods in my flesh,
splits me splits me
me raja me raja
This is my home
this thin edge of
barbwire.
But the skin of the earth is seamless.
The sea cannot be fenced,
el mar does not stop at borders. …
Yo soy un puente tendido
del mundo gabacho al del mojado,
lo pasado me estira pa’ ‘tras
y lo presente pa’ ‘delante,
Que la Virgen de Guadalupe me cuide
Ay ay ay, soy mexicana de este lado.
these words were published in 1987, and to this day, they remain relevant. they echo the feelings i encountered and encounter when i go to la frontera.
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