Tapia, Mi Vida Loca

Un Guerrero.
He fought for faith, he fought the vices, he fought the demons inherited, the ones created.
The Virgin rested on his chest, quiet and watching.
When the crowd roared and his arms lifted to the sky, we all rose with him.
Five times he was on top of the world.
A champion from our streets, humble but powerful,
fighting with the kind of heart only Albuquerque could create.
His story like a mirror of our own.
The hardest rounds came after the bell, when the lights faded
and only faith could keep him standing.
His face lives on our walls, his name in our breath,
his spirit in every kid who dreams past Central.
The world knew a legend, but we knew our own.
Johnny Tapia,
our brother, our primo, our son, Burque's champion forever.