Song: “Jusiticia” by Eddie Palmieri & Ismael Quintana
As if 2020 couldn’t get worse enough, an unarmed black man, George Floyd, was brutally murdered by Minneapolis police leading to widespread protests and riots across the country.
The following weeks led to a truly distopian scene even all the way out on the West Coast, with buildings boarded up, daily protests and marches, and police enforced curfews, all admidst the back drop of a global pandemic.
And yet there was still light to be found amidst all the darkness, with people coming together during hard times and many business putting up messages of support for racial justice and equality.
We decided to capture this historic moment and show our solidarity in our own way– through dance. We worked with my students at SJSU Spartan Mambo, dancing in front of the boarded up buildings in San Jose to “Justicia” by Eddie Palmieri and Ismael Quintana. Althoguh the song was written decades ago, the lyrics unfortunately are as relevant today as they were back then:
Justicia lyrics:
Justicia tendrán / Justice they will have
Justicia te dan / Justice they give you
El mundo / The world
Y los discriminados / And the discriminated
Con el canto de mi tambo / With the song of my drum
Oye mi tambo / Hear my drum
La justicia yo reclamo / I demand Justice
(Ay cuando llegará la justicia / Oh when will justice come)
Justicia para los boricuas y los niches / Justice for the Puerto Ricans & Blacks
(Ay cuando llegará la justicia / Oh when will justice come)
Mi tambor reclama justicia / My drum demands Justice
(Ay cuando llegará la justicia / Oh when will justice come)
Que llegue, que llegue la buena noticia / Let the good news come, let it come
(Ay cuando llegará la justicia / Oh when will justice come)
Tanta tirania, tanta tirania, tanta tirania / So much tyranny, so much tyranny, so much tyranny
(Ay cuando llegará la justicia / Oh when will justice come)
Justicia, que yo reclamo justiciar / Justice, I claim Justice
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