English con Salsa

Welcome to ESL 100, English Surely Latinized,

inglés con chile y cilantro, English as American

as Benito Juárez. Welcome, muchachos from Xochicalco,

learn the language of dólares and dolores, of kings

and queens, of Donald Duck and Batman. Holy Toluca!

In four months you’ll be speaking like George Washington,

in four weeks you can ask, More coffee? In two months

you can say, May I take your order? In one year you

can ask for a raise, cool as the Tuxpan River.

Welcome, muchachas from Teocaltiche, in this class

we speak English refrito, English con sal y limón,

English thick as mango juice, English poured from

a clay jug, English tuned like a requinto from Uruapan,

English lighted by Oaxacan dawns, English spiked

with mezcal from Mitla, English with a red cactus

flower blooming in its heart.

Welcome, welcome, amigos del sur, bring your Zapotec

tongues, your Nahuatl tones, your patience of pyramids,

your red suns and golden moons, your guardian angels,

your duendes, your patron saints, Santa Tristeza,

Santa Alegría, Santo Todolopuede. We will sprinkle

holy water on pronouns, make the sign of the cross

on past participles, jump like fish from Lake Pátzcuaro

on gerunds, pour tequila from Jalisco on future perfects,

say shoes and shit, grab a cool verb and a pollo loco

and dance on the walls like chapulines.

When a teacher from La Jolla or a cowboy from Santee

asks you, Do you speak English? You’ll answer, Sí,

yes, simón, of course. I love English!

And you’ll hum

a Mixtec chant that touches la tierra and the heavens.

Gina Valdés grew up on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border. Her work has been published in journals and anthologies in the United States, Mexico, and Europe. She is the author of two poetry collections, Eating Fire and Borders and Bridges, both from Bilingual Press. The poem is published by permission. Photo by Veronica Cunningham.