I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” —Genesis 45:3, NIV
Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain. —Genesis 44:1 & 2, NIV Entre la avenidas Jobos y Gautier Benítez del barrio Porvenir de Alfaguara, vivía la señora Rufina Keating en una casa poco dilapidada. Ella miraba en el balcón. Suspiraba. Se reía con los pibes que se reían con ella. De unas sonrojó cuando don Paquito la coqueteaba y le decía: “Fuiu-fuiu! Señora, usté' h'tá elegantísima en e'hta noche tan eh'pecial. ¿Me haría u'hté el honor en recibir el nuevo milenio en mi choza?”, a lo cual le replicaba: “Gracias, don Paco, pero no observá vos que espero a mis nietos?” “A pue' bien, señora”, le contestó mientras escurrió su mano dentro de las rendijas del balcón para acariciar las manos delicadas de la señora Keating. “Gracias, mi vida. Que pases un feliz año nuevo, vos también.” Don Paquito inclinó su sombrero vueltiao y caminaba hacia la Gautier Benítez mientras se ajustaba su chalina de año nuevo, como dicta la tradición alfaguereña. Ella se sonrió mientras tomaba su taza de café y observaba cómo las familias inviduales se preparaban para el año nuevo. Y he aquí, mintió descaradamente: ella no tenía nietos (los retratos de niños que ella tenía venían con la compra del recuadro), ni mucho menos alguna familia que la sobrellevara. De sólo pensar en esto, se le nublaban los ojos. Todos sus vecinos celebraban el nuevo milenio, y ella...sola. Apenas los Castro llegaron de comprar todos los ingredientes necesarios para la paella. Los Acabá contrataron a MC-Chaco y sus Punta Girls. Los Marichal eran Testigos de Jehová, pero la rebelde Linda Sara se estacionó en la casa de los Marcano para recibir el autógrafo de su ídolo, MC-Chaco. Y he aquí, ella se encontraba sola, aunque su cara nórdica y piel de olivo gastado declaraban que ella era una sobreviviente. As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.” -1 Samuel 17: 55, NIV Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” -Mark 4:38, NIV David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him. -1 Samuel 22:1 & 2, NIV I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. -1 Kings 2:2, NLT My son, I will die: I have to, I cannot cheat the circle of life. Where I will go, you will meet me soon –but please, heed my words. What God has given me is a monumental favor. I do not deserve this, I do not own this, neither do you. You are a servant, an administrator accountable to the people's whims. And no, please don't look at me with that face. I believe in you, I trust in you –only you can finish the job God started in me. Trust me, you are the perfect person...but I cannot let you stray away, not by any chance. Please, remember me. Remember my victories. Remember my failures. Remember my hardships. Remember I was born running, and I will die running –and so you will, too. Remember I was born leading, and I will die leading –and so you will, too. But I must beg of you: learn, grow, improve, do better than what I did, exceed the expectations, go far above and beyond, soar and fly higher than I did. You have your youth; I have my sagging flesh and skin. Be careful when you walk along the halls. The walls have ears, and they will hear even your last breath. Be careful what you do in secret— I have learned this the hard way. Be careful when you make treaties with foreigners or when you run off meeting your future bride; treat everyone with respect, everywhere you go. I see your tears. Don't hold them back. After all the years I had to suck my tears dry in front of the Lord, I can't ask you to be more a human than to be yourself. I've seen you grow up into a strong man, so curious and unafraid of the world. Don't lose the fear I won back on my deathbed. Please, don't lose that sparkle of hope in your eyes...yet don't fall prey to the stupidities you'll face in these horrible days. They will only grow from bad to worse, but that's where you come in. Where God has placed you, that's where He wants you: and only through Him, you'll grow even higher and higher. Tell your children...Oh, they're right here...I love you all very so much. Tell your wife...Oh, she's also there...I am honored to be your second father. Tell your workers and friends...Thank you for the music. And I will say to myself...Thank GOD I am leaving this place! But enough is enough: I have said what I have to say. I will go in peace, I will go in silence. Remember all my advice, and make it your own. And when you make it your own and your children stand before you, you will see your lips move with the Lord's majestic voice. Be a man. Be brave. Be majestic. Be a father. Be a man.
Felicidades. My mother is cinnamon-skinned, and my father is a kind of dirty French vanilla. My sister is a café espresso, while I am something called a jabao'. No, don get it wrong; for us, these aren't derogatory ways that people think we use about race—not that I would know. In fact, they are mostly terms of endearment—at least for me. I may have a light skin, but it's still slightly burned. I may speak fluent English like the next guy, but my Spanish is still peppered with that delightful mixture of Andalusian and Canarian delights people dismiss as vulgar and confusing. Nevertheless, I never admit I'm white: there's still something about the nappy hair and the big nose that throws the illusion away. People may say I'm black or that I speak like a Dominican, but I don't care: God made me like this, and to Him I am indebted.
“Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” -Mark 7:28, NIV |
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