Written by: Nicomedes Santa Cruz (Tenths)
Translated by: Milo Falconi (Hunter College - The City University of New York)

The juxtaposition of modern synthesizers with the almost tinny sound of the speaker in the microphone is reminiscent of old-time radio and reflects the era in which the tenths were written. Putting the two side by side, it symbolizes the historical issues discussed in the tenths that are still relevant in the present. 
The rhythm I created is an edited and remix version of the song Latinoamerica from Calle 13.


Key Words: 
Inga: of Andean ancestry 
Mandinga: of African ancestry 
Negra(o) Retinta(o): Refers to an Afro-Peruvian who has very dark skin
Negroide: Blackness seen either negatively or positively, cultural reference enclosed in the history of Black Peru.
Zambo: racial slur, reflects on your skin color, usually lighter  
Chapetón (chap): Slur for recently arrived Spanish immigrants 
Naturally: In the context of the text, born within marriage 


From Inga or Mandinga (1959)

From the most dark skinned female 
to the mulatto,
each one, according to the way they look 
all require different treatment.

And who ever doesn’t have Inga
Has Manginga
with different approaches
just in a distinct way.
Some fellows may focus 
In their probable 
Extinct heritage,
A fourth or fifth lineage may be,
From a similar root
will find among their history
all the answers from its beginning

You will find a negro, with a big old voice
who lived with his mother 
being born from a blurry date
his “refined” ancestral trunk.
Said “naturally” born daughter
-to the end of the viceroyalty-
held concubine
with an Andalusian gentleman,
and she came to give birth
to the muscular mulatto 

The big old mulatto 
brags about lineage
but denies that he is a half-blood,
of coal-colored grandparents.
Desperately tries to find his chap uncle
and the blackness makes a feint.
Although his skin is different
I do not envy his hair:
they move away -even among themselves-
each one, according to their looks

As for what I got,
to be the way I am, I'm glad:
hazel eyes, black complexion,
My curled hair and thick lips.
Being like this does not diminish me
nor does it make me feel stupid.
There is only one thing I fight:
Black racism, no!
... although a zambo like me
demands special treatment...


Original Poem by Nicomedes Santa Cruz 

De inga o mandinga (o Desdela negra retina)


Desde la negra retinta
al cuarterón de mulato
cada cual, según su pinta
exige distinto trato.

Al que de inga no le toque
le tocará de mandinga,
todo es la misma jeringa
con diferente bitoque.
Algún fulano que enfoque
su genealogía extinta,
de ascendencia cuarta o quinta
por ramajes paralelos
hallará entre sus abuelos
desde la negra retinta.

Hallará al negro bozal
que convivió con su amita
naciendo de aquella cita
su «ilustre» tronco ancestral.
Dicha hija natural
–a fines del virreinato–
sostuvo concubinato
con un hidalgo andaluz,
así vino a dar a luz
al cuarterón de mulato.

El mulato cuarterón
presume de su linaje
pero niega el mestizaje
de abuelos color carbón.
Busca al tío chapetón
y al negro le hace una finta.
Aunque su piel es distinta
no envidio ni sus cabellos:
se apartan –aún entre ellos–
cada cual, según su pinta.

En cuanto a lo que me toca,
de ser como soy me alegro:
ojos pardos, cutis negro,
rizo el pelo y gruesa boca.
El ser así no me apoca
ni me vuelve mentecato.
Solo una cosa combato:
Racismo negroide ¡no!
…aunque un zambo como yo
exige distinto trato…
(1959)

Exploring Afro-Peruvian Art

Milo Falconi is a Linguistic Anthropology graduate student at the University of Houston, Texas (USA) and a City University of New York-Hunter College Alumni. Milo specializes in visual language acquisition and its many multidisciplinary and multimodal approaches within monolingual and multilingual communities. He is passionate about art education and how it facilitates learning a language for children and adults. Milo is looking deeper into the relationship between language, cognition, and the semantic processes of language development. Milo is a Delores Welder and National Competitive Merit Scholar at the University of Houston—and is a formal Mellon and McNair Fellow.