III
El Juan se apellida Laguana
su abuelo es un ex-marino gringo-guameño.
La abuela vivía en Tijuana.
Esperaban que pasara la guerra.
(Mestizaje del Pacífico gracias al belicismo gringo)
Su padre nunca quiso ir a Vietnam.
Prefirió ser mecánico en la frontera, donde sobran carros.
Nosotros crecimos trabajando en la herrería;
cruzamos la frontera a diario;
hablamos de la Selección,
de La Libertad.
Cree seriamente que los migras se la pelan.
Le digo que está muy gordo, que corriendo no se escapa.
Me dice que para estándares guameños está ocho libras bajo la media.
III
El Juan’s last name is Laguana
his grandfather is a gringo-guameño ex-marine.
His grandmother lived in Tijuana.
They were waiting for the war to end.
(Pacific mestizaje thanks to gringo militarism)
His father never wanted to go to Vietnam.
He thought it'd be better to be a mechanic on the border, where cars are everywhere.
We grew up working in the iron shop;
we crossed the border every day;
we talked about the Mexican national team,
about La Libertad.
He seriously thinks the migras can’t touch him.
I tell him he’s really fat, that he couldn’t get away if he ran.
He tells me that by guameño standards he’s eight pounds below average.
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