Mi México de Ayer
Una indita muy chula tenia su anafre en la banqueta,
Su comal,negro y limpio ,freia tamales en la manteca;
Y gorditas de masa ,piloncillo y canela,
Al salir de mi casa campraba un quinto para la escuela
Por la tarde,a las calles ,sacaban mesas ,limpias viejitas,
Nos vendian sus natillas ,arroz con leche en sus cazuelitas,
Rica capirotada ,tecojotes con miel
Y ala noche un atole tan champurrado que ya no hay de él.
Estas cosas hermosas,porque yo asi las vi,
Ya no estan en mi tierra ,ya no estan mas aqui
Hoy en mi méxico es bello, como nunca lo fue,
Pero cuando era niño tania mi méxico un no sé qué...
Empedradas,sus calles eran tranquilas,bellas y quietas;
Los pregones rasgaban el aire limpio:venian cubetas,
Tierra pa' las macetas ;la melcocha la miel,
Chichicuilotes vivos, mezcal en panca y el aguamiel.
Al pasar los soldados salía la gente a mirar inquieta ,
Hasta el tren de mulitas se detenia oyendo la trompeta ,
Las calandrias paraban ,solo en viejito fiel
Que vendia azucarillos improvisaba en verso aquel:
" azucarillos de a medio real y de a real
Para los niños que quieran mercar."
Estas cosas hermosas,porque asi yo las vi,
Yo no estan en mi tierra, yo no estan mas aqui.
Hoy mi méxico es bello,como nunca lo fue,
Pero cuando era niño tenia mi méxico un no se qué...
My Mexico of Yesterday
A cute little indigenous girl had her clay stove on the sidewalk,
Her griddle, black and clean, frying tamales in lard;
And little fat cakes of dough, brown sugar, and cinnamon,
As I left my house, I bought a small bottle for school.
In the afternoon, on the streets, old ladies set up clean tables,
They sold us their custards, rice pudding in their little pots,
Delicious bread pudding, tejocotes with honey,
And at night a champurrado so thick there's none left.
These beautiful things, as I saw them,
Are no longer in my land, they're not here anymore.
Today in my Mexico it's beautiful, like never before,
But when I was a child, my Mexico had a certain something...
Cobbled, its streets were calm, beautiful, and quiet;
The vendors' calls cut through the clean air: buckets were coming,
Dirt for the flowerpots; taffy, honey,
Live maguey worms, mezcal in a leaf and honey water.
As the soldiers passed by, people came out to watch anxiously,
Even the mule train stopped, listening to the trumpet,
The carriages stopped, only one faithful old man
Who sold sugar candies improvised in verse:
"Sugar candies for half a cent and a cent
For the children who want to buy."
These beautiful things, as I saw them,
Are no longer in my land, they're not here anymore.
Today my Mexico is beautiful, like never before,
But when I was a child, my Mexico had a certain something...