David Marulanda
M2, Drexel University College of Medicine
The sign read, “Empanada Sale.” His mind raced through the brief catalog of “Spanish food” it had amassed over his twenty something years. He was born and raised in the suburbs of a major American city. He felt he knew all about the world and how it worked, after all, he was a medical student and his parents were physicians. He was at the tippity top of society. Too bad his mind was reporting back: taco, enchilada, tapas, and kay-so. What more could exist?
He approached his classmates selling these “empanadas” for charity. There was a choice of carne, pollo, or queso. The line was longer than he had expected for something that could not be this popular if he had never heard of it. And it smelled delicious. This had to be something new, kind of like the cronut when it came out.
He was next and he finally understood.
“How many would you like,” asked his fundraising classmate.
“Why didn’t you just say these were beef patties,” he asked.
About the Artist: David Marulanda is a 2nd year medical student at the Drexel University College of Medicine from New York City. He studied Communications at Boston University almost a decade ago, and maybe a decade from now he’ll be a surgeon of some sort. He recently finished his term as the LMSA co-President for the Drexel Chapter and is currently the LMSA National Conference Chair. As such David has had the privilege of helping to organize the 2022 national conference. LMSA aside, David is also a co-founder and former president of the Drexel Chapter of Students for a National Health Program. Additionally, he serves as the Mentorship co-Chair for the First Generation Student group and as an Associate Literary Editor for DUCOM's literature and arts magazine, The Tincture. He also continues to write short stories in his sparingly sparse spare time. David is also an avid basketball player and you can find him avoiding First Aid on any of several local courts.
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