Modern Day Heroes

Seeking a home in a land where I wasn’t born
Please tell me I belong, oh tell me I belong
Wasn’t born in the land of the free
Had to leave everything to find it here

We are refugees, we are immigrants
We’ve lost our innocence, we’re not ignorant
We’re modern day heroes
It’s not true when they say we’re just sinners

Don’t want to be the orphan of the world
Please tell me I belong, oh tell me I belong
Can I trust you to share the burdens I bear?
When life is uncertain, tell me you care

Don’t forget your grandmother’s father came through Ellis Island
And without him you wouldn’t be here, but now you belong here
Please understand my brothers and sisters won’t survive in Syria
And no one is a devil because of an expired visa

We all breathe the same air
Created by a God who listens to our prayer
He didn’t create maps or borders
But a pure love with no borders

We are refugees, we are immigrants
We’ve lost our innocence, we’re not ignorant
We’re modern day heroes
It’s not true when they say we’re just sinners

By Ana Lucía Galarza

Biography:

Born in Barcelona, Spain to Ecuadorian parents, Ana Lucía Galarza, follows a musical legacy six generations strong. She completed her undergraduate studies at The City College of New York in 2017 with support from the Sphinx MPower Artist Grant and a scholarship in honor of National Heritage Fellow, Ilias Kementzidis. Her eclectic inclination towards songwriting, cello performance, chamber music, digital music production, and recorded music have allowed her to collaborate with musicians of all styles, and to perform and premiere original music at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, Harlem Stage, Rockwood Music Hall, and the Andrew Freedman Home among others.