Mi México de Ayer

My Mexico of Yesterday

Mi México de Ayer

A cute little indigenous girl had her clay stove on the sidewalk,Una indita muy chula tenia su anafre en la banqueta,
Her griddle, black and clean, frying tamales in lard;Su comal,negro y limpio ,freia tamales en la manteca;
And little fat cakes of dough, brown sugar, and cinnamon,Y gorditas de masa ,piloncillo y canela,
As I left my house, I bought a small bottle for school.Al salir de mi casa campraba un quinto para la escuela

In the afternoon, on the streets, old ladies set up clean tables,Por la tarde,a las calles ,sacaban mesas ,limpias viejitas,
They sold us their custards, rice pudding in their little pots,Nos vendian sus natillas ,arroz con leche en sus cazuelitas,
Delicious bread pudding, tejocotes with honey,Rica capirotada ,tecojotes con miel
And at night a champurrado so thick there's none left.Y ala noche un atole tan champurrado que ya no hay de él.

These beautiful things, as I saw them,Estas cosas hermosas,porque yo asi las vi,
Are no longer in my land, they're not here anymore.Ya no estan en mi tierra ,ya no estan mas aqui
Today in my Mexico it's beautiful, like never before,Hoy en mi méxico es bello, como nunca lo fue,
But when I was a child, my Mexico had a certain something...Pero cuando era niño tania mi méxico un no sé qué...

Cobbled, its streets were calm, beautiful, and quiet;Empedradas,sus calles eran tranquilas,bellas y quietas;
The vendors' calls cut through the clean air: buckets were coming,Los pregones rasgaban el aire limpio:venian cubetas,
Dirt for the flowerpots; taffy, honey,Tierra pa' las macetas ;la melcocha la miel,
Live maguey worms, mezcal in a leaf and honey water.Chichicuilotes vivos, mezcal en panca y el aguamiel.

As the soldiers passed by, people came out to watch anxiously,Al pasar los soldados salía la gente a mirar inquieta ,
Even the mule train stopped, listening to the trumpet,Hasta el tren de mulitas se detenia oyendo la trompeta ,
The carriages stopped, only one faithful old manLas calandrias paraban ,solo en viejito fiel
Who sold sugar candies improvised in verse:Que vendia azucarillos improvisaba en verso aquel:
"Sugar candies for half a cent and a cent" azucarillos de a medio real y de a real
For the children who want to buy."Para los niños que quieran mercar."

These beautiful things, as I saw them,Estas cosas hermosas,porque asi yo las vi,
Are no longer in my land, they're not here anymore.Yo no estan en mi tierra, yo no estan mas aqui.
Today my Mexico is beautiful, like never before,Hoy mi méxico es bello,como nunca lo fue,
But when I was a child, my Mexico had a certain something...Pero cuando era niño tenia mi méxico un no se qué...