There are numerous benefits to being bilingual , and one Latina spoken word artist is adding “writing bomb-ass poetry” to the list.
Anacristina Chapa’s poem “On Being Bilingual,” posted via YouTube on Friday, is an ode to the beauty of knowing two languages while also pushing back against anyone who views Spanish with contempt.
“For the sensitive ears that can’t stomach the spicy sounds of the Spanish language,” the Latina says at the beginning of her poem. “Or for the sour mouths that spit stupidity into existence by saying things like, ‘This is America, we speak American in America.’”
The poet’s verses slowly build to a message of resistance against anyone who wants to silence Latinos, including President Donald Trump, with “white walls.”
“My bilingual tongue says, ‘Fuck your wall.’ My tongue doesn’t believe in boundaries or borders, it colors outside the box,” Chapa says in the poem, uploaded by the Write About Now Poetry channel.
Toward the end of her piece, Chapa lists the health benefits of being bilingual before spitting verses in Spanish then immediately translating them into English.
Watch the full poem in the video above.
(H/T We are mitú)
Before You Go
