Chicano Poet

Thursday, September 27, 2012


Chavez Ravine

Chamaco blew up Dodger Stadium
and gave the people back their barrio

the ungrateful cabrones
refused to move back in

donning their baseball caps
they demanded their stadium 

be rebuilt
pinches vendidos

they paid 
no mind to Chamaco

and the city
rebuilt the stadium

and the pendejos
were happy once again

I guess Tomas el Lobo was right
you can’t go home again

Saturday, September 22, 2012


Semper Fi

Chamaco was all that he could be
unlike you and me

instead
he became a jarhead

from the Halls of Montezuma
to the shores of Tripoli

he died in vain in Iraq
and in Afghanistan

but he was a man
and he was a woman 

you couldn’t keep him down
and you couldn’t keep him up

he was tomorrow
and he was yesterday

he was a hero
and he was a zero

from the Halls of Montezuma
to the shores of Tripoli

Thursday, September 20, 2012


Chamaco Of Time And Space

Chamaco carries a pistola
and Sixties rolas

he’s got a computer chip
on his shoulder

he’s a lover
and a hater

he flaunts his talents
denies his shortcomings

you’d almost think
he’s human

but that’s the one thing
that most of us are not

Chamaco’s long shadow
against a building in an alley

Chamaco reaches
for his gun

bang bang
his cell phone rang

his wife was calling
reminding him to buy tortillas

Chamaco put the gun away
flagged down a cab

the moon was yellow
like urine

the stars
spoke Spanish

Chamaco’s mind
doubled in size...

by the time
he got home

he became human
for his wife

while on a far-off planet
anti-Chamaco exploded

into another and another
Big Bang


Wednesday, September 19, 2012


Chamaco Caliente

Chamaco puts the pedal to the metal
tires squealing

motor roaring
poem fish-tailing

flying down the road
not taken

the poem
is a sportscar in his hands

curves in reverse
at high speed

almost losing control
of the words

the burning smell
overtakes the tongue

only when the poem
slides to a stop

do you realize
that Chamaco’s a hot         rod

pants on fire
candy apple red

Monday, September 17, 2012


Chamaco’s Ancestors

Some people liked Chamaco
some didn’t 

some even went so far
as to hate him

he was much like
the meteor

which wiped out the dinosaurs
short and bitter

short and bitter
like Chamaco’s ancestors

who could never
form a nation

to the consternation
of the above

Friday, September 14, 2012

Chamaco's Diet

Chamaco subsisted on a diet
of dragonflies

spitting out the wings
swallowing the crunchy eyes

sometimes afterwards
he felt his sticky feet levitating

but he didn't think
much of it

you get the picture don't you?
Chamaco was not a thinker

more of a Rodan
than a Rodin

Thursday, September 13, 2012



via Alma Luz Villanueva on Facebook

Tuesday, September 11, 2012


The Incredible Chamaco

When you get Chamaco angry
he turns green

like the Incredible Hulk
or more likely

a jalapeño
chico pero picoso

bear-like oso-mental
don’t lose it he tells himself

or you’ll put someone
in a pozo

the only antidote
is leche

in la keche
when he finally

becomes brown again
when he becomes raza again

he has to take
the good with the bad

verde verde
te quiero verde

Monday, September 10, 2012

Friday, September 07, 2012


Legacy Del Louie Chicaspatas

El vato thought
he was badass

cruisin in his Escalade
with its 92” chrome wheels

in a barrio
known for its beautiful crime

though nothing good
ever came out of there

one day
el vato

was gunned down
as he opened the lambo door

the hip hop sound
escaping low

from his Texas-sized
woofers

the barrio walls
was shaking

as el vato
hit the ground

his two boys
still  strapped to their carseats

dicen que no hay SUVs
in heaven or hell

but who knows
what God be driving

Thursday, September 06, 2012