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Pedro Albizo Campos dedicated his life to the struggle of Perurto Rican independence. A proposed statue of hte man in Humboldt Park was deemed too controversial to honor Chicago's Puerto Rican community. Nothing was built... need more be said?
For Millie
They didn't put your statue up in Humboldt Park.
Perhaps it's for the best.
I really can't imagine you looking
heroically over Midwestern vistas,
next to the monument for Vikings.
Let me tell you las nuevas.
Things haven't gone well for Boricuas since you left.
Oh a few -- here, there -- have done well.
Tio Andy, my uncle, owns half of Orlando,
and cousin Oliver -- dios mío -- a Senator of all things.
Yet, there's real fear on North Avenue.
I see it on the aged faces, doubting young eyes,
in the music that would make Don Rafael cry.
The other night I dreamt I saw you near Division Street,
soaring over congregating spirits.
Some were angry, some confused.
When you told them they had wings,
instead of flying, they fell face down,
their fingers bleeding from scraping concrete.
My people left their land while you were still beautiful --
they adopted new ways, left behind old traditions.
But my son, he counts his numbers uno, dos, tres,
and when his time comes,
he will learn your story straight.
There's no order in this world,
only tales of dispossession,
of leaving intimate landscapes
for unfamiliar stars.
Driving northbound on Western Avenue,
I saw you standing by the bus stop
near Roberto Clemente.
Your hand rose in salutation.
It was then, Don Pedro, I realized,
I owed you these lines.
- Frank Varela
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