Chicano

I used to cruise a lowrider

A firme '63

Everything was original

Except for the switches.

I even took the holy pilgrimage

to Espanola, New Mexico

The lowrider capital of the world

And I got respeto for my ranfla!

But that's not what being Chicano is all about!

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I remember when i was a cholo

With the creases in my khakis

Razor sharp!

Tatoos y todo

And my pendelton buttoned at the top.

And those corduroy bedroom slippers.

You remember those chopos.

And the grease I put in my hair

Tres Flores

I had a three finger habit

And that shit never washes out!

But thats not what being Chicano is all about!

Then i learned my Chicano history

About Che, Tijerina, Cesar, Aztlan!

The walkouts, the boycotts, the riots, the resistance!

But i still hadn't figured what being Chicano was all about!

Then i became a militant Chicano

With fist in the air!

Ready to conquer the establishment!

I started spelling Xicano with an X

Because thats the way Mexica would of spelled it!

I stood at the pinnacle of the sun

And i was ready to throw myself to the bottom

For any cause!

But still i hadn't figuered out what being Chicano was all about!

Then i finally accepted my mestizaje

That means

I have blood of Indigenous and Spanish in me!

From the Conquistadores and the Moors

To the Aztecas and the Olmecas

I could see the class and regalness of the Spaniard

Like the tragic beauty of the bullfight

And the precision and discipline of the flamenco!

But I also put my hand in the soil and felt Mother Earth!

I prayed to the four directions

And i understood the harmonious balance of equality

But still I hadn't figured out what Chicano was all about!

I never got a tattoo teardrop

Or Mi Vida Loca tattooed between my thumb and finger!

I never did a driveby or painted on the walls!

But that shit has nothing to do with being a Chicano!

Chicano is the fire that feeds my soul

It's the blood of my ancestors racing through my veins

Its the passion in my heart!

Chicano is the love for mi familia

Chicano is the love for mi cultura

Chicano is the love for mi raza!

It's about having respeto

Respect.

It's about being humble

But knowing when to fight!

Chicano is the burning thats inside me

that moves me

That makes me who i am!