My light skin and colored eyes
guarantee me a place in society.
They also provide a
mistaken identity.

I lose my place in society
when people realize my father passed
the border—secretly—with
el coyote;
struggled to obtain
papeles;
went back to
el rancho to marry mi ama.
And that both my parents
work in casinos with
lows paying jobs—waiter and maid.

I lose my place in society
when people see me with mi familia
and I speak the language of my parents;
speak to my raza;
eat beans for dinner;
listen to the radio station La Tricolor 102.1
with corrido’s playing;
dress up like a vaquero
and go to el rancho
where my parents were raised.

And when I pronounce my full name,
“Diego Navarro Muñoz”
—like if I was in trouble—
the rolling R’s confirm that they made
the “right” choice to not give me a place
in society.