I don’t want to talk about it just tell them
— from “Borderbus”
That you came from nowhere
I came from nowhere
And we crossed the border from nowhere
And now you and me and everybody else here is
On a bus to nowhere you got it?
Pero por eso nos venimos para salir de la nada
When the bus stops there will be more nothing
We’re here hermana
Today’s read: Notes on the Assemblage by Juan Felipe Herrera – City Lights Books – 2015
I asked my dad a few times why my parents immigrated to New York. I am familiar with the facts of where my story started and how I arrived. I even have found out some chisme regarding a family member kidnapping me as an infant to have me stay in Ecuador. But I have always wanted to know more.
I have asked friends and other family members and the stories usually return to the most practical: economics.
Right now, during the pandemic, I think of empty streets and wonder: Who benefits and who suffers? Who can take advantage of this time to recenter? Who is still in displacement? Who can move towards knowing where their story starts?