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En Mi Viejo San Juan

by Quisol

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All proceeds from this track will go to support hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico via www.unidosporpuertorico.com

Let us not forget how imperialism and modern-day colonialism continue to oppress this nation and people across the world today, from Palestine to
Somoa and everything in between. We come together as people to support one another.

The original bolero tells the story of a person who leaves Puerto Rico as a young person, grows old far away from their home, and fears that they will die before returning to see their Viejo San Juan one last time. My abuela shared this song with me, saying it was one of her favorites.

I was moved to write these new lyrics to describe my experience dreaming of a place that my mother and grandmother knew, but to which I had never been. I hope it resonates with others for whom the land of their elders only exists in the imagination.

Photo by Dianith Rivera Quisol

lyrics

En mi viejo San Juan what dreams I had
In the nights when I was young
All the stories that I heard
The tastes, the sounds the words
cremita, abuelita

And as the years went on by and I realized
all that I had imagined
lay across oceans blue
In a land I never knew
en mi viejo San Juan

Goodbye Boriquen querida
Goodbye mi diosa del mar
I'm here, I'm still here
And I am still trying
To feel that first love
To dream again
En mi Viejo San Juan

Pero el tiempo pasó y aprendí español
En la escuela secundaria
And I moved to the north
So far from your shores
To the Carolinas

People ask if I've been and I just reply
No but I'm wishing
To really get to know
who's in these family photos
En mi Viejo San Juan

Goodbye Boriquen querida
Goodbye mi diosa del mar
I'm here, I'm still here
And I am still trying
To feel that first love
To dream again
En mi Viejo San Juan

credits

released February 2, 2018

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Quisol Charlotte, North Carolina

artist and thinker

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