Move

I asked my grandmother how should women move in the world.

And she said …. head, torso, hips

she explained, it's our intelligence that make us aware of who we are in life and how society views us. It's our hearts that guide us through the darkness and its our hips that give life, hypnotize and infatuate those around us. Thats how a woman should move in this world.

I asked my mother, how should I move in this world? She said con cuidado y poder. Don’t trust a place where a woman has no face, where she is just a body on display. Be weary of a world that doesn’t recognize you, that leaves you and cheats on you while you raise their children. Don’t trust a world that has you chained to the bed as you give birth… while you wait to see your baby’s face. Move carefully but with strength. Move.

I asked my Tía how do I should I move in this world? She said dance como si estuvieras muerta, libre y sin verguenza. Know that you come from a long line of beautiful women who have fallen and gotten up, who fought back after being dragged and who have left their homes to create a new life when no one appreciated them. Dance as if you were dead, free and shameless. Move.

I asked my sister how should I move in this world? She said move without apology. Walk with your head up high and love in your heart. Speak truthfully and with authority. Have nothing command you but yourself. Know the space around you is self-held and self-felt. Move

I asked my brother how should I move in this world? He said move with pride, mija. Show others who fail to understand who you are, that you live in this world brown and beautiful in time where it is dangerous to be so. They feel threatened by your existence. Interrupt their reality and perception by shaking their hand and showing them that you are human- even though its not your job to do so. Move with pride, mija.

I asked myself, how should I move in this world? "Move… just move"-I said. Move even though you have been left and cheated on. Move even though you have been sneered at with disgust as they said “mira este morenita” with their nose up. Move even though a customer is yelling at you, saying you are less of an American because your family are immigrants. Move even though you have woken up without your clothes and no one is man enough to tell you what happened to your body. Move because when they finally do say something, they blamed you for consuming too much alcohol. Move even though you had to let your first love go as he decided to join the US military to fight for a country who once called him an alien. Move when someone calls you “a lesbian” as an insult when you refuse to label your sexuality because its none of their god damn business. Move even though you feel alone when you really have an army at your side. Move when you have tears in your eyes and are broken. Move when a lighter day comes and you see the path clearer than you once had.

Move with that smile on your face because you know better. Move with those eyes that show nothing may phase you. Move around those who wont walk with you. Move your head, torso and hips and dance as if you were dead in world that doesn’t recognize you but your steps are without apology and you are proud of your identity. Move... mija, move.