Yo Soy Boricua

My Spanish has always been "too white" or seen as "typical Puerto Rican",

those same people go get perms in their hair to get rid of their beautiful curls to fit the current trends.

My skin can get really pale in the winter and I am "una blanquita",

pero summer comes and I am "una morrena".

I am too white to be black, but too black to be white,

I'm not seen as Caribbean, even though a simple view on a map will show the truth,

and in the eyes of the politicians, I am illegal and need to get out of the country.

I have my own question in every application: Are you Hispanic/Latino/a/x/e?

But then asking for my race, as if I can pinpoint every ancestor that wasn't enslaved, beaten, mistreated, or made to disappear off the face of the earth,

or even calculate that percentage to then give you an answer on my race.

History continues to repeat itself as Puerto Rico cannot be its own entity,

I cannot be my own entity without being shoved into a box that I don't fit in.

My Spanish is a reflection of the mistreatment of generations before me,

during me,

and unfortunately after me.

Yo soy boricua, I am Puerto Rican,

but above all,

I am human.

My pride for my culture will remain strong.