MENUDO MAN
Menudo man loves Juanita
Juanita loves Menudo Man
A love spoken out loud
But felt when it can.
In order to enjoy myself do I need to be slow and groggy?
To gain the full effects is it required to be hungover?
Once I grow big strong and mature
Maybe I’ll finally understand
One day i’ll grow into a menudo man
Menudo Man
Menudo Man
There is one thing I don’t quite understand?
Why is it you only eat on sundays
With your head in your hand?
Campbells is comforting for the soul
But in no ways does it fill the hole
The same way Juanita’s does
Menudo Man
Menudo Man
Why you get your nutrition from a can?
Why do you work so hard?
Is that why you play even harder?
Menudo Man, What is the secret to your energy and relentless gall
Is it the tripe that makes you stand tall
Or is it the hominy
A harmony of contradictions found in a bowl.
Intestines should not be delicious
And yet here it is.
Is it a reminder that even though there is banging in your head, house, and job
You too are just as delicious and deep with flavor?
Or is it that you too feel like you’ve been trapped in a can?
Mass produced and removed from your homeland?
Only celebrated for the finished product and when taken apart
Discarded with disgust.
“Ew tripe. Thats intestines. That’s not right.”
Menudo Man Menudo Man
Help me, help me, if you can.
What if where you now eat is my homeland?
Is it too late for me to become a menudo man?
What if Juanita’s soup is the only one I understand?
Does that make me less of a Menudo man?
Menudo man Menudo Man
Its not your job to make me comprehend
I can’t begin to understand where you began
But, menudo man menudo man
Can you help me cross this distant land
Hand in hand
Menudo man?
ITS NOT MY FAULT THAT THEY DON’T HAVE TRIPE IN TRADER JOES
MENUDO MAN!
It’s not necessarily the broth
Or the bones
Or the tripe
Or the hominy
Its not what comes in the can but what is added.
The hand crafted characters
Cut with care
Not packaged by Juanita,
But picked by my mom.
Picks of cilantro green,
Dried oregano and chile flakes for depth
Raw onion for crunch and
Red Radishes for color
Yellow lemon slice for the juice and the rind.
It makes me remember when I went away and my family asked me what I needed, food-wise.
And all I replied was with a couple cans of Menudo would do me right.
Juanitas to be exact. I needed something to look back
And remember thats what I am.
Underneath it all, just another menudo man.
A menudo man that works hard, but plays even harder.
And on sundays when its time to recharge
Engorge, enlarge, and wonder –
“ To enjoy Mexican food is to enjoy life.”
Menudo Man
Menudo Man
Where is Juanita?
And when can I shake her hand?
When can I thank her?
Can I express my love too
Without the looks askance?
“Juanita’s passion for introducing the flavors of Mexico to the United States is a legacy that has endured for more than seventy years, and will continue for many generations to come.”
