Entry nº 45: Poem: I celebrate the life in my hometown

I celebrate the life in my hometown,
I celebrate the daylife and the nightlife,
The people, their work and the gathering places,
I am all those who live here and die here without
Knowing any other town or city,
Those whose entire lives have walked along these streets,
Seen the same faces and visited the same places.

Knowing one of us is knowing the whole town,
In all of us is the spirit of men and women working
At the sugar factory, or in the sugar fields, or in the lemon fields;
In all of us are the pedestrians walking in circuls on Saturday nights;
In all of us are the festivals and celebrations throughout the year
The festival of Saint Joseph our patron saint, in March;
The Spring celebrations for the youth and the festival
To celebrate the end of the harvest,
And in Summer, the carnival and the paraids.
In all of us are the warm greetings when you pass by,
The birds singing and the blue sky, and the children
Flying their kites in the green squares
The peaceful nights, the full moon and the bright stars,
The windows without grills;
The public swimming pool at the public sports center
All these are part of you and I
All these can only be found in our hometown,
our souls and our roots are here, in our little lively city.

These words are for you that think our town is small and boring,
for you that believe there is no life and no future in here,
I tell, you my neighbour, there is no place in the world,
Like Bella Vista, our hometown.