Paciencia Y Fe

[ABUELA CLAUDIA]
Calor… calor… calor…
Calor… calor… calor…
Ay, Mamá!
The summer's hottest day
Paciencia y fe, paciencia y fe

It was hotter at home in La Víbora
The Washington Heights of Havana
A crowded city of faces the same as mine

Back as a child in La Víbora
I chased the birds in the plaza
Praying, Mamá, you would find work
Combing the stars in the sky for some sort of sign

Ay, Mamá, so many stars in Cuba
En Nueva York, we can't see beyond our streetlights
To reach the roof you gotta bribe the supa
Ain't no Cassiopeia in Washington Heights
But ain't no food in La Víbora

I remember nights, anger in the streets, hunger at the windows
Women folding clothes, playing with my friends in the summеr rain
Mamá needs a job, Mamá says we're poor, one day you say, "Vamos a Nuеva York..."
And Nueva York was far
But Nueva York had work and so we came

And now, I'm wide awake
A million years too late
I talk to you, imagining what you'd do
Remembering what we went through

Nueva York! Ay Mamá!
It wasn't like today, you'd say
"Paciencia y fe"

[NEW YORKERS]
"Paciencia y fe"

[ABUELA CLAUDIA]
"Paciencia y fe!"

[NEW YORKERS]
Paciencia y—

[ABUELA CLAUDIA]
Fresh off the boat in America
Freezing in early December
A crowded city in 1943!
Learning the ropes in America
En español, I remember
Dancing with Mayor Laguardia
All of society welcoming mami and me!
Ha!

[EMPLOYERS]
You better clean this mess!

[ABUELA CLAUDIA]
Paciencia y fe…

[EMPLOYERS]
You better learn inglés!

[ABUELA CLAUDIA]
Paciencia y fe…

[EMPLOYERS]
You better not be late
You better pull your weight
Are you better off than you were with the birds of La Víbora?

[ABUELA CLAUDIA]
Sharing double beds, trying to catch a break, struggling with English
Listening to friends, finally got a job working as a maid
So we cleaned some homes, polishing with pride
Scrubbing the whole of the Upper East Side
The days into weeks, the weeks into years, and here I stayed

[NEW YORKERS]
Paciencia y fe
Paciencia y fe
Paciencia y fe

[ABUELA CLAUDIA]
And as I feed these birds
My hands begin to shake
And as I say these words
My heart's about to break
And ay, mamá
What do you do when
Your dreams come true?
I've spent my life
Inheriting dreams from you

I made it through
I survived, I did it
Now do I leave or stay?

(Spoken)
Alright, Mamá. Okay

(Sung)
Paciencia y fe

[NEIGHBORS]
Calor, calor, calor!