Today I Come to Sing to You, and So to Remember You by José A. Alvarado Jr.

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Today I Come to Sing to You, and So to Remember You

josé a. alvarado jr.

Feb 6, 2021

Location: New York City

...It was a hot morning on the eighth day of the month. The sun hadn't fully risen above the city and the sweltering heat had stuck everything in its path to the asphalt. The studio flourished with energy. Painted clothing hung all over the space to dry. The last details of animals created from foam similar to my own were all moments from being completed. Other artists that have traveled to become part of the brother's performance waited anxiously as the twins frantically finished the last of the finishing touches. Efrain sporadically broke free from his creative trance and gathered his "troops" around a makeshift table to go over the performance progression. He gave out the responsibilities and instructed the volunteers on how to act. It was curated as little as the duo's other performances. Efrain expressed how much planning could be done, but to keep much of the performance to improvisation. The group before him nodded in agreement and dispersed until the following day when the annual parade was to begin on Fifth Avenue in Midtown. I had never even dreamt I'd be in Midtown. It was always just a view out of my window. The anxiety rushed throughout my fabric at the sheer thought of being paraded up the typically southbound street. The words "Nada Que Celebrar", why we don't celebrate, in red paint for all the city to see would beam off of me as we would march forward. I would lead the army of awareness towards El Barrio, in Harlem, but not before we made our statement in front of the parade stage in front of the cameras and revelers...

Poncili Creación - JOSÉ A. ALVARADO JR.
Today I Come to Sing to You, and So to Remember You Words by the foam mattress on the street The long estival rays of sun seeped over my edges on a...

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José A. Alvarado Jr.

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