School of Distance Education

Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100
By Martin Espada
APuerto Rican revolutionary, abolitionist, writer, 
activist, and diplomat, Martin Espada is called the Latino 
poet of his generation. He has published more than 
fifteen books as a poet, translator, editor and essayist. 
His major works include 
The Republic of Poetry
(2006) 
The Trouble Ball 
(2011),
 A Mayan Astronomer in Hell’s 
Kitchen
(2000)etc.
Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100 is a poem 
written in praise of immigrants who worked in the 
window in the World restaurant. Throughout the work, 
Espada represents and celebrates the lives and stories of 
immigrant workers by linking the historical elements 
with the current scenario. The labour struggles of the 
workers form the major focus of the poem.
Regarding September 11 Espada stated that 
“Poetry humanizes. Poetry gives a human face to a time 

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School of Distance Education
English Literature in the 21
st
 century
15 
like this. Poetry gives eyes and a mouth and a voice to a 
time like this.”. The terrorist attack that shook the world 
is given expression through poetry. Espada elaborates 
the lives of working class in a sympathetic yet powerful 
manner.
The first two stanzas describe the quick 
movements of the workers and their dedication to the 
work. The poet describes their actions with the music of 
bread and eggs by a cook from Fajardo. The poet 
associates the blue eyes of the cook with the American 
and Spanish invasion of Puerto Rico. The genius of 
Espada as poet is quite visible as he associate, what 
seems to be irrelevant to a layman, with a historic event. 
The poet resembles the “oye” written upon the shoulder 
of the cook as an exclamation that shares its tint with 
many other languages of the world. The poet does not 
limit the term “oye” with one culture or nation as he 
deems it to be universal. Espada shares the personal 
experiences of the labor movements that occurred in the 
Caribbean during
1970’s in the next stanza. The poet associates the 
“roll call” of the workers in remembrance of the 
immigrants and migrants during the labor movement. 
Espada focuses mainly on the labor struggle rather than 
the falling of the twin towers. He wants to direct our 
imagination that it is the labor that suffers in actuality in 
every major military campaign, trade or agrarian 
agreement. By unifying the diversity in labor he wants to 
point out that the struggle for labor is universal in nature.

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School of Distance Education
English Literature in the 21
st
 century
16