The idea of this collection is to portray what is beyond the
commonly known facts about Venezuela. Most of the common references that come to
mind when mentioning Venezuela are oil, Chavez -the crazy president-, and its
beauty queens. The title, Underneath the
Oil, reflects on what is beyond the oil, beyond the land, there is richness,
there are natural landscapes, family ties, strength and most importantly I
wanted to show the optimistic spirit of the Venezuelan people.
The titles of my poems have been written and to show
the realization of being a bicultural person and dual citizen of two great
countries. I was born in Venezuela, but
raised in the United States; my lifespan is equally divided in both
places. Being bicultural, is more than
just speaking two languages, it is really embracing each culture, their inside
jokes, the ‘street’ talk, their colloquial slangs, the food, the idiosyncrasy
of each country and feeling part of it (in each culture). This is something that I recently managed to
do, because originally I always felt like a Venezuelan living in the U.S., like
a resident from another country. After
becoming an American Citizen, voting for one of the most important presidential
elections and traveling to foreign countries in Europe, my heart grew towards America
and I completely fell in love with the U.S.A.
I came to the realization that the U.S.A is by far the best country to
live in, and to me, the best in the world, it is a country truly worthy of
admiration and won a place in my heart just as much as my native Venezuela.
-Written in 2009 for my Poetry Class
-Written in 2009 for my Poetry Class
In “The Sun’s Beloved Land”
The irony of returning
home,
and seeing the old
streets as if they were new.
My mind only knew how
to compare,
the drastic differences
between
the Venezuelan
lifestyle,
and the American life
that I had embraced.
I had to become familiar
with the words again.
Specially
the strong accent that Maracuchos have,
I
had lost it to my surprise.
“Oh my God” was more
natural to me,
I said it quite
frequently, unpredictably.
My cousins laughed with
me,
it entertained them
when I spoke in English.
There I was with the
ones that I grew up with,
and I was not entirely
her anymore.
She was inevitably a
person from two
places, two spaces, two
belongings.
Underneath
Venezuela’s Oil
You, my rich land in diamonds and gold.
You, the queen of the South.
The pretentious, industrious exporter
of oil.
You, the happiest in the world.[i]
Even with your flaws,
you were as free as Bolívar wanted you
to be.
These days your tongue is held back
with fear.
When you said no, it meant no, but the
injustice of corruptors
persuaded you to say yes to an unfair
amendment.[ii]
Your citizens’ dollars were capped.[iii]
Your televisions have been trapped,
chained with the image of that man.
As he leaves his traces,
your bills change their values
and their faces.
All the absurd alterations made to the
Carta Magna…
Enough with the limitations!
If only Bolivar knew, what has become
of the liberty he left you.
The
Bi-Life
From here and from
there,
the two worlds in my
days.
The tropic and the
winter,
the noise and the
stillness.
The spice and the
mild,
the uniform versus
style.
It is like two
different patterns of fabric sewn together,
to make one garment
of clothing.
It is not one, it
is not the other,
It is the combination,
the appreciation,
of what each world
has to offer.
Back in
“The Sun’s Beloved Land”
“Maracaibo”
the sign stands out in the gate, as I am waiting to board the plane. The
combination of those letters makes my heart miss a beat. Almost as if there was
something about Maracaibo that I was avoiding and my unconscious brings out. And
I surely was…
I
did not want to go back to see how deteriorated the city would be how more
insecure, more corrupted, more “revolutionized”. But no matter how ugly those
news feed, there was the pulling of my roots, and no matter how far from it I
may be, my love for this land, I could not pretend to leave behind. As I
arrive, the emotions flourish from my being. The difficult times, that lead us
to leave, the losses of significant people in my life, the losses of material
belongings that lead us to move out to a foreign
country. The joys, of sharing with my relatives, all who together made sure, there
was nothing that my brother and I could have lacked. They did not want us to miss out on anything
my dad would have given us. All that came to my mind… and then I realized how
thankful I still am to this land. No matter how much was lost, there is more
energy, more passion, and more happiness that ties me to "The Sun’s Beloved Land."
Opposite
Poles
Often
your stubborn mindset,
leads
to pointless conversations:
“The leftists,
the opposition…”
Pushing
through individual conflicts
between
diverse views and inclinations.
Throwing
a load of words right in their faces
again
and again.
Your
respectable voice, your admirable heart
and
good intentions, all the known facts,
only
counts as another attempt to
convince
a person of what is best or right
while
outside, there is an infinite universe.
Oh
but how hard it is becoming to make out
who
is more complicated?
You,
for insisting in showing your light
or
them for blocking it out...
[i]
Venezuela holds the Guinness Record for being
“The Happiest Country in the World”- 2008
[ii]
President Chavez wins the referendum
on a constitutional amendment for indefinite presidential reelection -February
2009
[iii]
Venezuelan citizens traveling to foreign countries can only spend a maximum of
USD$2,500.00 per year per person –January 2009
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