Quiero que pienses en el horizonte de tu ciudad. ¿Qué te imaginas? Think about the skyline of your city. What do you see? When we see the skyline, we can not only see but also feel and hear.

Do you imagine a dark sky with towering skyscrapers, lit with millions of lights – sparkling like stars in the sky? Do you see a stunning sunrise against the backdrop of the great, waking buildings, with the roar of cars and people growing louder as the city wakes up? It seems that the skyline is eternal. Never still, and always in motion, as it never falls to what is beneath and behind it. To me and others, the skyline is what we imagine as the future, the grandness of our own dreams, and the outline of our visions. What are the lights that illuminate the buildings to make them look so great? What has become of the corpse of the city that lies underneath the tallest buildings?

Nowadays, the air never seems to clear from fires and smog. We are a hurt city. We bleed, and we are bled into. Our blood that runs red might also run black, or green, or brown, or yellow. The starting of millions of engines, as people are in a rush to get to work. The burning of trash in the middle of a neighborhood, as the homeless person is trying to get warm. This pollution in the air is not an infection, but it is a symptom. A symptom that this city is suffering, screaming and shouting for help.

Sometimes I look towards the skyline wondering what the view from the top is. If everything is blurred, or if at least one thing is clear: the city is suffering silently. The giant skyscrapers are like gods, setting and rising the moon and the sun. They stand in front of the sky and raise the smoke from the ground. The smoke stands behind them, blocking the stars from our view. Blocking the true gradient of the sky, washing it grey. Like how the sky reflects the bright blue color of the ocean in the sunsets and sunrises, it chooses to show the color of our people. From oranges to reds, purples to pinks, the sky is our mirror. Yet, it has turned a sad gray. It is not just the absence of the stars and vibrant colors, but it is what the absence means. That the smoke is something you cannot only see but also feel. Imagine the smoke clogging your throat, in the heights or in the East, it is something you have to live with. Voice and vision dulled.

Now, think about the skyline of your city. Can you see the stars, one for each person in the city? What do you smell or feel? When I look at the Los Angeles skyline, I know that behind the buildings and the smoke, there is true color. I think about my own community, which I see as one of the many heartbeats pumping bright culture through distinct sounds like voices and music, and smells from the cooking of delicious food. I have hope that not everyone has their dreams darkened by smoke, voices quieted by the smog, or color washed by the grey. Believe in yourself and your community, that you are the stars and the sky altogether. Y nunca dejes que nadie te pueda apagar todo esto.