Giannina Braschi quotes - page 2
The United States of America will become the United States of Banana. And Puerto Rico will be the first half-and-half banana republic state incorporated that will secede from the union. Then will come Liberty Island, then Mississippi Burning, Texas BBQ, Kentucky Fried Chicken-all of them-New York Yankees, Jersey Devils-you name it-will want to break apart-and demand a separation-a divorce. Things will not go well for the banana republic when the shackles and chains of democracy break loose and unleash the dogs of war. Separation-divorce-disintegration of subject matters that don't matter anymore-only verbs-actions. Americans will walk like chickens with their heads cut off.
Giannina Braschi
English is a language of mass destruction. Lady Macbeth is a queen of mass destruction. Lear is a king of mass destruction. Hamlet is a prince of mass destruction. Shakespeare is a bard of mass destruction. And Moby Dick is a whale of mass destruction. Why are you a culture of death and destruction? Why do you obliterate villages, cities, and civilizations with your language of mass destruction? Is the destruction worth the destruction? For what purpose did you destroy my language? To impose the sovereignty of your rule of law with weapons of mass destruction-to then say: --I offer you my lifesaver. Now, we can communicate in the same language. English only, please.
Giannina Braschi
This is a vicious circle. This is the fishmarket. This is working for survival. This is survival of the fastest. This is the Darwinist capital of the capitalist world. A head afraid is a head haunted. A head haunted is a head hunted. Run for your life. Run from the guillotine to a head hunter who saves your head and raises your salary-so you'll be caught in the red of the fishmarket buying gadgets to distract your fragile imagination that is cut in the red market of blood-running and escaping-running again-changing your resume to update the fear you feel of being unemployed tomorrow-in the streets-and from there to welfare-and from there to begging.
Giannina Braschi
When the Twin Towers fell-I felt a dentist had pulled out my two front teeth. I could not laugh anymore. And I have the smile of a smiling damned villain. But I also felt the hole in my mouth became a garage, and entering that garage were terrorists in trucks full of explosives and French diplomats-to f*ck us more with other nations-to run over our dead bodies.
Giannina Braschi
Puerto Ricans...castrate their children. As a reality check. Because they know the colonial systems will not allow their children to achieve all the things that they want in life. I saw that in my childhood. I saw this impotence that was imposed on me since my childhood. But I said, "I'm going to build an empire of uselessness. I'm going to take from the Americans the ingenuity, and I'm going to take from the Spaniards the wisdom.” And that's what I do. I mix wisdom and ingenuity.
Giannina Braschi
Soy boricua. In spite of my family and in spite of my country, I'm writing the process of the Puerto Rican mind- taking it out of context-as a native and a foreigner-expressing it through Spanish, Spanglish, and English-Independencia, Estado Libre Asociado, and Estadidad-from the position of a nation, a colony, and a state-Wishy, Wishy-Washy, and Washy.
Giannina Braschi