Author Archives: Wilson Santos
Djembe
Bill has been on the block since Vietnam, and has seen it go from White to Brown. He grew up across town, in a one-bedroom with his mother, when Bergenline was still Italian. He saw the first wave of Cubans come in the late 60’s, and felt right away this meant trouble. He watched as the Marielitas turned the town Brown in the 80’s, while the Italian exodus moved west to the burbs along route 3, where it was still White. But Bill refused to leave. He was a Veteran and the only thing he knew how to do was to stay and fight for what was his. At least that’s what he likes to tell people. Read the rest of this entry
Certain Choices: The Car Accident I Can Still Write About
It was 10:30am on Election Day. I had just responded to a facebook status where several friends debated my decision to withhold my vote, in protest of what I think is the flawed two party system; because the lack of choices voters have, basically represent an illusion of democracy, and not the real thing. All our lives we’ve been told that we must vote because our vote is our voice and people fought and died to give us this privilege and to refuse a vote is disrespectful to their struggle. This argument has been repeated so much, that we’ve internalized the concept that, patriots vote, and anyone who doesn’t, must be a “moron” or an “idiot.” Read the rest of this entry
Machetes and Machismo
The first thing I noticed, besides the dry, cracked paint pealing off the walls, was the penetrating stench and how quickly it hit me, like a wall of thick and humid, almost visible stink, racing into my nostrils and irritating my eyes. Right away, I thought, “What the fuck? Couldn’t they at least clean this place up or find a better funeral home for my father?” Read the rest of this entry
Wilson Santos 