Ranchero Song

I saw this ranchero painting

On pottery at a souvenir shop.

A hot Southwest summer

Ranchero works in the agave field

He eats his tortilla and salsa

And drinks mezcal.

He covers his head with straw sombrero

Sits on a rock for quick siesta

Under the shade of a tall saguaro.

It’s a hostile, arid land

But it’s his ancestors’.

He knows how to live here.

It has its immense tortures

But also a myriad of blessings

He loves and prides on his land.

Translation:

The sombrero-wearing ranchero taking a siesta in the blazing summer heat of the desert is as iconic of the Southwest as it can be.

The pottery with this painting in a souvenir shop in San Diego inspired this poetry.

Note: This bilingual poem was originally published in Medium.