Naturally born as farmworkers,
Laborers, maids, dishwashers
And second class citizens
He found out that we were
Descendents of great civilizations
Y que somos herederos
De las tradiciones
De la gente que estaba aquí
Desde el principio del tiempo
We didn’t come to America
America came to us
He boldly declared to a closed world
Trying to pry it open
Flinging social paradigms
Like arrows into the belly
Of the mightiest beast on earth
From the inside
…Talking about imperialism
Capitalism, exploitation and oppression
And the most frightening concept of all
Self-determination
Inspiring an entire generation
To imagine a Chicana/o nation
Redefining the foreigners
…Inciting the largest tribe
In this hemisphere
To rise up and demand its land
From boxer to philosopher of liberation
Nuestro carnal, Corky
Was like an alarm clock
Crowing the gritos of
La revolución
En la lucha para
La liberación de Aztlán
High from the Rockies
Las cordilleras de las Americas
He declared to the four directions
Que, ¡Yo Soy Joaquín!
An allusion to a rebel
Contra los expansionistas
Un guerrillero que luchó
Por la justicia
Por que él también sufrió
Bajo de la mano de la injusticia yanquí
¡Yo Soy Joaquín!
Was a declaration for justice
A cry for freedom
A recognition of la raza
La gente indígena de Aztlán
Nuestro carnal, Corky
Knew that he had to organize
A Crusade for Justice…
Movilizar la gente para luchar
Por la dignidad
Por la humanidad
Por la igualdad y
Por una mejor sociedad
Nuestro carnal became the impetus for
El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán
Mobilizing minds, spirits and bodies
Theory—action—social change
La Raza Unida
Nuestro carnal, Corky knew…