Cada vez que hablamos de la diáspora nuyorican y mencionamos a Pedro Pietri, mi esposa me cuenta sus anécdotas de niña cuando visitaba Nueva York en los veranos. Su hermano Carlos vivía en la 14 y frecuentemente la llevaba a comer en el Ray’s Pizza del Village. Carlos Piñeiro se destacó como líder independentista y defensor de la comunidad puertorriqueña en Nueva York durante la década de los ochenta e inicios de los noventa y frecuentaba diversos escenarios de la comunidad puertorriqueña. Allí de niña, Vannessa conoció a Pietri. Su último encuentro con él, fue durante el funeral de su hermano donde Pietri, junto a otros nuyoricans, latinos y nuyorquinos le rindieron un último tributo a Carlos Piñeiro.
En reciprocidad a su creatividad y a su solidaridad con las causas justas, quisiera reseñar que el Próximo miércoles 12 de septiembre de 2012 en la Respuesta se llevará a cabo un homenaje a Pedro Pietri. Habrá micrófono abierto y el junte de 35 poetas incluyendo a Angel Luis Méndez, Elizam Escobar, Etnairis Ricera, Joseramón Che Melendes, Toño Rosario Quiles, Yvan Silén y videos de Tony Walker, MC, Roberto Biaggi y Carlos Laster.
Pedro Pietri fue un poeta, icono de la diáspora nuyorican. Pietri fue poeta fundador del Nuyorican Poet’s Café y uno de los primeros escritores del movimiento poético nuyorriqueño en ser elogiado por la crítica desde la publicación de su primer poemario, Puerto Rican Obituary (1973), obra de gran originalidad publicada por una reconocida casa editorial estadounidense. Este poemario también fue una de las primeras obras de un escritor de la diáspora puertorriqueña traducidas al español y publicadas en la Isla por el Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña en 1977.
Pietri nació en Ponce, Puerto Rico y emigró junto a sus padres a los tres años. La familia Pietri se estableció en el Harlem Hispano, mejor conocido como El Barrio, en la ciudad de Nueva York. Una de sus tías le despertó su afición por la poesía y Pietri escribió sus primeros poemas cuando todavía estaba en escuela superior. Empezó a darse a conocer por su participación en la fundación del Nuyorican Poets Cafe en 1973 y por sus excéntricos recitales en este establecimiento y en otros espacios públicos de la urbe neoyorquina.
Poco después de publicar Puerto Rican Obituary, el autor produjo una grabación de sus poemas en disco de larga duración. En la misma despliega los elementos de dramatización y oralidad que caracterizan su obra y a la poesía nuyorriqueña en general. En esta grabación y en sus célebres recitales, Pietri siempre demostró sus habilidades como actor dramático. Gustaba de usar el título de Reverendo y en sus presentaciones siempre aparecía vestido de negro y con un sombrero o una boina también de ese color. Cargaba sus poemas en una bolsa de papel de estraza o en una maleta medio raída que desplegaba el letrero “Coffin for Rent” (Se Alquila este Ataúd); todas indicaciones de la excentricidad que caracterizó su personalidad artística.
De acuerdo a Pietri, su carrera artística fue influida por el poeta puertorriqueño de las calles bravas neoyorquinas, Piri Thomas; quien acostumbraba leer sus poemas en los parques de Washington Square y Union Square de esa ciudad, y su obra inspiró a varios de los escritores asociados con el Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
El arte de Pietri siempre se distinguió por su carácter innovador y a menudo extravagante. En varios de sus poemas reproduce sonidos ortográficamente, reforzando así un sentido de enajenación y del absurdo; éstos contrastan con las inclinaciones sociales y políticas que dominan sus poemas más reconocidos. Poemas tales como “Puerto Rican Obituary” y “A Broken English Dream” son poderosos testimonios sobre las luchas cotidianas de los puertorriqueños por la supervivencia y su capacidad para superar la crudeza del prejuicio racial y la pobreza.
Pietri murió de cáncer de estomago a los 59 años el cual el escritor atribuyó a los efectos del agente naranja durante su participación en la guerra de Vietnam.
Aquí incluyo su principal poema:
Puerto Rican Obituary
They worked
They were always on time
They were never late
They never spoke back
when they were insulted
They worked
They never took days off
that were not on the calendar
They never went on strike
without permission
They worked
ten days a week
and were only paid for five
They worked
They worked
They worked
and they died
They died broke
They died owing
They died never knowing
what the front entrance
of the first national city bank looks like
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
All died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
passing their bill collectors
on to the next of kin
All died
waiting for the garden of eden
to open up again
under a new management
All died
dreaming about america
waking them up in the middle of the night
screaming: Mira Mira
your name is on the winning lottery ticket
for one hundred thousand dollars
All died
hating the grocery stores
that sold them make-believe steak
and bullet-proof rice and beans
All died waiting dreaming and hating
Dead Puerto Ricans
Who never knew they were Puerto Ricans
Who never took a coffee break
from the ten commandments
to KILL KILL KILL
the landlords of their cracked skulls
and communicate with their latino souls
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
From the nervous breakdown streets
where the mice live like millionaires
and the people do not live at all
are dead and were never alive
Juan
died waiting for his number to hit
Miguel
died waiting for the welfare check
to come and go and come again
Milagros
died waiting for her ten children
to grow up and work
so she could quit working
Olga
died waiting for a five dollar raise
Manuel
died waiting for his supervisor to drop dead
so he could get a promotion
Is a long ride
from Spanish Harlem
to long island cemetery
where they were buried
First the train
and then the bus
and the cold cuts for lunch
and the flowers
that will be stolen
when visiting hours are over
Is very expensive
Is very expensive
But they understand
Their parents understood
Is a long non-profit ride
from Spanish Harlem
to long~sland cemetery
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
All died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
Dreaming
Dreaming about queens
Clean-cut lily-white neighborhood
Puerto Ricanless scene
Thirty-thousand-dollar home
The first spics on the block
Proud to belong to a community
of gringos who want them lynched
Proud to be a long distance away
from the sacred phrase: Que Pasa
These dreams
These empty dreams
from the make-believe bedrooms
their parents left them
are the after-effects
of television programs
about the ideal
white american family
with black maids
and latino janitors
who are well train
to make everyone
and their bill collectors
laugh at them
and the people they represent
Juan
died dreaming about a new car
Miguel
died dreaming about new anti-poverty programs
Milagros
died dreaming about a trip to Puerto Rico
Olga
died dreaming about real jewelry
Manuel
died dreaming about the irish sweepstakes
They all died
like a hero sandwich dies
in the garment district
at twelve o'clock in the afternoon
social security number to ashes
union dues to dust
They knew
they were born to weep
and keep the morticians employed
as long as they pledge allegiance
to the flag that wants them destroyed
They saw their names listed
in the telephone directory of destruction
They were train to turn
the other cheek by newspapers
that mispelled mispronounced
and misunderstood their names
and celebrated when death came
and stole their final laundry ticket
They were born dead
and they died dead
Is time
to visit sister lopez again
the number one healer
and fortune card dealer
in Spanish Harlem
She can communicate
with your late relatives
for a reasonable fee
Good news is guaranteed
Rise Table Rise Table
death is not dumb and disable
Those who love you want to know
the correct number to play
Let them know this right away
Rise Table Rise Table
death is not dumb and disable
Now that your problems are over
and the world is off your shoulders
help those who you left behind
find financial peace of mind
Rise Table Rise Table
death is not dumb and disable
If the right number we hit
all our problems will split
and we will visit your grave
on every legal holiday
Those who love you want to know
the correct number to play
Let them know this right away
We know your spirit is able
Death is not dumb and disable
RISE TABLE RISE TABLE
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
All died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
Hating fighting and stealing
broken windows from each other
Practicing a religion without a roof
The old testament
The new testament
according to the gospel
of the internal revenue
the judge and jury and executioner
protector and eternal bill collector
Secondhand shit for sale
Learn how to say Como Esta Usted
and you will make a fortune
They are dead
They are dead
and will not return from the dead
until they stop neglecting
the art of their dialogue
for broken english lessons
to impress the mister goldsteins
who keep them employed
as lavaplatos porters messenger boys
factory workers maids stock clerks
shipping clerks assistant mailroom
assistant, assisant assistant
to the assistant's assistant
assistant lavaplatos and automatic
artificial smiling doormen
for the lowest wages of the ages
and rages when you demand a raise
because is against the company policy
to promote SPICS SPICS SPICS
Juan
died hating Miguel because Miguel's
used car was in better running condition
than his used car
Miguel
died hating Milagros because Milagros
had a color television set
and he could not afford one yet
Milagros
died hating Olga because Olga
made five dollars more on the same job
Olga
died hating Manuel because Manuel
had hit the numbers more times
than she had hit the numbers
Manuel
died hating all of them
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
and Olga
because they all spoke broken english
more fluently than he did
And now they are together
in the main lobby of the void
Addicted to silence
Off limits to the wind
Confine to worm supremacy
in long island cemetery
This is the groovy hereafter
the protestant collection box
was talking so loud and proud about
Here lies Juan
Here lies Miguel
Here lies Milagros
Here lies Olga
Here lies Manuel
who died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
Always broke
Always owing
Never knowing
that they are beautiful people
Never knowing
the geography of their complexion
PUERTO RICO IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE
PUERTORRIQUENOS ARE A BEAUTIFUL RACE
If only they
had turned off the television
and tune into their own imaginations
If only they
had used the white supremacy bibles
for toilet paper purpose
and make their latino souls
the only religion of their race
If only they
had return to the definition of the sun
after the first mental snowstorm
on the summer of their senses
If only they
had kept their eyes open
at the funeral of their fellow employees
who came to this country to make a fortune
and were buried without underwears
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
will right now be doing their own thing
where beautiful people sing
and dance and work together
where the wind is a stranger
to miserable weather conditions
where you do not need a dictionary
to communicate with your people
Aquí Se Habla Español all the time
Aquí you salute your flag first
Aquí there are no dial soap commericals
Aquí everybody smells good
Aquí tv dinners do not have a future
Aquí the men and women admire desire
and never get tired of each other
Aquí Que Paso Power is what's happening
Aquí to be called negrito
means to be called LOVE
Pedro Pietri, Monthy Review Press (1973)