“Love off 36th and Culebra”
by Danny Constante Delgado 

“Do you think up 410 the buses are different?” he would ask. “Or maybe they don’t take the bus up north,” I spoke naively. “Somos el ano de san anto.”

The slow ride of weed flowed through our bodies as cholos rode their chariots across the school while pachucas hugged up to light poles and braced themselves with kisses of drunken passion.  Gilbert and I watched the cars pass by on the street curb where brown pride placas spelled the familiar, “Nena and Pete Por Vida.” You could smell the Westside in the air and you just knew something was going to go down. 

Paleta sticks cluttered the cracks in the cement.  El Lil Chuy getting cussed out by his homegirl for losing her pinche eyeliner she told him to hold earlier that day para pintar sus eye brows.  We all called her “la sharpie.”  My cut up jeans were dirty from last night’s running from the necios down the street. You would see Juan and his chuca heading towards the ditch, that ditch held their pit stained sweat sex amor. Everyday after dissing las clicas, he and Kim would head out for the ditch. We all knew it, the vato was love struck but his head was always held up high knowing he was going to get some in that ratty sewer-infested hole. Kim with her tattoo lipstick and tight ass pantalones had all the vatos’ heads turning, but she belonged to Juan.

You never really needed music in those moments because music was already ringing in our ears; the cars y el wind provided all the music we needed. Every now and then I would put on my earphones to add to our soundtrack, and the feeling that life was not going to get worse but not any better showed in our skin as Gilbert and I looked at each other and said, “Let’s go.” The kingsters were coming. We then chilled by the bus stop and dreamed, puro making believe en esos días.  Life was just a blur, our pinche blur. “Do you think up 410 the buses are different?” he would ask. “Or maybe they don’t take the bus up north,” I spoke naively. “Somos el ano de san anto.”

Danny Constante Delgado was born and raised on the West side of San Antonio, TX on March 30,1982. He received a BA in Mexican American Studies with a concentration in Sociology. He serves as Vice President for the Board of Directors of San Anto Cultural Arts. He has been a writer and photographer for over 10 years.