the mujer from tennessee. or a tribute to one of the best.

her name is deanna. she is 5'8,'' wears a size 10 shoe, is from Tennessee, cusses like a sailor, and pulled herself up by the boot straps in life. She's the kind of person that flips you the double bird if you say she can't do something. she hates exercise, loves colors and big earrings, and will become your best friend in 3 minutes. she got discounted lunches in elementary school because her mom didn't make enough to pull them above the poverty line. her southern drawl comes out something fierce when she gets mad.

when she was 18 she decided to go to mexico. the folks at home didnt know why she wanted to go to a dirty country full of dirty people. but she flipped them the double bird and said "forget you, im going". and she did. she fell in love with a name named jorge. he bought her earrings and was fascinated by this mujer from tennessee, a whirlwind of woman that knew her mind and burped in public. he wooed her with flowers and promises. he was lying. he broke her heart.

it didnt matter. she flipped him the double bird and said you can't keep me down, and you cant ruin mexico for me. mexico changed her life. a part of her heart opened. a whole country full of horchata and laughing and hospitality. it reminded her of the south. she had to come home at the end of the summer, but she couldnt forget the scent of mexican laundry.

she changed her major to latin american studies. her mom threw a fit. she flipped her the double bird and said "sorry mama, but this is what i want for my life". she couldnt forget the faces of the people. she couldnt get rid of the feeling that she belonged there, that the people needed her. a small town girl with big dreams, and a love for fiestas.

so she went back to mexico, flipping double birds by the minute to everyone telling her she was crazy. she studied migration. she peed on the ground and lived on a rancho. she didnt understand why these people had to eat beans for every meal and didnt know how to read. she wanted to say to the mexican government "what the hell is going on?" and flip them the double bird. she didn't, because she'd get shot and she'd have to practice her spanish a bit more before that. but she kept on caring.

she came back and kept studying. she still misses mexico. she dreams of swimming across that wide river that divides mexico from texas alongside the wetbacks coming over to pick fruit to make enough cash to buy their children shoes. she says shes going to wear her tennessee drivers license on a chain around her neck, and when the border patrol shoots her down thinking shes an illegal, boy theyre going to be in for a surprise. "we shot one of our own!" theyre going to say, and maybe someone will think about that a little bit. when she tells you about this dramatic death she has planned for herself, she laughs, but you can tell she means it. "one of our own?" she finishes, her face getting more somber. "I bet thats what God says about everyone they shoot in that river."

maybe one day she will swim across that river with her tennessee drivers license hanging around her neck. maybe one day she'll convince the world mexicans are people too, people that deserve shoes for their children. for now, she is deanna, the mujer from tennessee that flips the double bird to people that try to keep her caged, a free bird singing in a southern drawl, and one of my best friends.