thenoobyorker:

Somos Mas Americanos (We Are More American) by Los Tigres Del Norte. The lyrics have been translated into English below,

They have shouted at me a thousand times I should go back to my country
Because there’s no room for me here

I want to remind the gringos:
I didn’t cross the border, the border crossed me

America was born free, but men divided it
They marked a line so that I jump it
And they can call me “invader”

And that’s a very frequent mistake
They took from us eight states
Who’s then the invader?

I’m a foreigner in my own land
And I didn’t come here to cause you trouble
I’m a hard-working man

And if history isn’t lying
The powerful nation settled here, in the glory
Among brave warriors,

Indians of two continents mixed with Spaniards
And if we take centuries into account
We are more American
We are more American than the children of the Anglo-Saxons

Inspired by this wonderful blog post regarding the Tucson Ethnic Studies decision at Phoenix New Times,

Thing is, many white Americans simply can’t handle the truth about this nation’s past. They want sanitized history books for their children, which may give a vague chapter or two to the ugliness and brutishness of our forebears, but then go on to sing the praises of the United States, and rationalize those errant chapters as the occasional potholes in an otherwise well-paved road.

William Faulkner’s dictum that, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past” comes to mind. Indeed, the America we live in is the direct result of the intertwined strands of horror and greatness that preceded it.

It’s true. 

THIS.