Agaciro; a poem by Angel Uwamahoro and Winnie Rugamba at Rwanda Cultural Day San Francisco
Transcript
00:00 [Music]
00:06 Agachido, it's in you. It always has been.
00:18 And no one can ever take away what Imana himself has given to you.
00:25 Oryenhawe.
00:28 But they can lie.
00:31 They can manipulate the truth.
00:34 Fabricate proofs.
00:35 Infiltrate the grown and the youth.
00:38 For their own gain.
00:40 Some people enjoy seeing others in pain.
00:45 But keep in mind that no one can take away anything that is embedded in your existence.
00:54 And since the creation of Gwandar Gwagasabu, know that we've been dignified people.
01:01 Know that our founding fathers and mothers had a swag so heavy, so lit,
01:07 you either had to get with it or break our spirit, bro. You feel me?
01:11 Yes. And we're not here to flatter you.
01:14 We're simply here to tell you the truth.
01:19 But they chose the latter, though.
01:23 And with a broken spirit, for a while we lost it.
01:29 We forgot who we were and what we stood for.
01:33 Forgot everything that we were good for.
01:36 We forgot that we were dignified.
01:38 And forgot what that signified.
01:42 [Speaking in Gwandar]
01:46 [Speaking in Gwandar]
01:50 [Speaking in Gwandar]
01:53 [Speaking in Gwandar]
01:56 [Speaking in Gwandar]
02:00 [Speaking in Gwandar]
02:03 [Speaking in Gwandar]
02:06 [Speaking in Gwandar]
02:07 We had to remember our birth as a nation.
02:11 Relearn what we were worth.
02:13 Reclaim our roots and values.
02:17 And our lessons now are imprinted on us like tattoos.
02:23 These lessons were hard to learn.
02:26 But we learned them, brah.
02:27 So well we give lessons now, brah.
02:30 Schooling the world on resilience, persistence, consistence, and forgiveness.
02:36 And I don't know if you've been told,
02:39 but ever since we've got things in control,
02:41 we've got other countries looking at Rhonda like,
02:44 "Squad goals, squad goals."
02:49 So know your worth.
02:51 Plant yourselves in the fertile grounds that you've been given.
02:56 Get comfortable with who you are and the greatness you come from.
03:00 Know that none of this is new.
03:03 It has always been a part of you.
03:06 It is in your blood, in your lineage.
03:09 Dignity has always been part of your heritage.
03:13 So no matter who you are or where you come from,
03:17 friends from near, friends from afar,
03:20 with equally beautiful cultures,
03:23 if ever you're feeling lost,
03:26 reach out in the distance and reclaim what is yours.
03:30 Remember it. Know it. Own it.
03:34 Add a twist or a twang if you want to.
03:37 Throw in some slang if you want to.
03:39 Nobody's mad at you.
03:42 Remember, Rhonda wouldn't be Rwanda without Rwandans like you.
03:47 We define it.
03:49 We've been defining it.
03:51 And we are going to keep defining it.
03:54 Our way. All day. Every day.
03:58 Mura kweze.
04:00 [applause]
04:06 Thank you.
04:08 [music]
04:12 [silence]
04:19 [music]
04:24 [BLANK_AUDIO]