La Americana

Sometimes I have a hard time identifying myself as a Dominican. I mean it's not that hard. Both of my parents were born and raised there. My father barely speaks English and vapor rub was and continues to be the cure for all things. I love bachata and can't picture a life without Mangu and passion fruit so what the fuck am I talking about? Well I was raised in New York. Hell's Kitchen in fact, a neighborhood now known for it's night life, gay pride and or both and not for it's small immigrant population that got away with living in the middle of Manhattan with some sort of subsidized housing. Growing up, my father would blast bachata on the weekends and dance in the middle of our living room by himself with one hand on his stomach and the other up in the air. The cold Corona that stood on top of the T.V stand , slightly turned warmer and lighter as he consistently took sips; fueling his drunken solo-waltz. Every time white people passed by our window, their heads would turn, puzzled by sounds of the chichara, bongos and the single but fast plucking of the electric guitar. The smell of fried salami would consume and bring me in and out of the kitchen as I impatiently waited for my mom to finish cooking breakfast, as Frank Reyes belted out on my fathers stereo about wanting to return to the Island.

I consider myself to be pretty fluent in Spanish with the exception that I mispronounce a few words here and there. I'm trying to clean up my grammar and pronunciation by speaking Spanish to my parents a lot more but I can't help but feel foreign when I have trouble explaining how the Masters program works at City College. I'm pretty sure they're convinced that I'm doing my bachelors all over again.

I plan on living in the states for a long time but when I let my mind wander and restrain it from multitasking, I think about the coconuts on the top of the palm tree huddling like a group of hands; fingers fixed into the crevices and interlocking into a ten-finger fist, waiting to endure a strong but crisp wind from the glittering aqua green.