Carlos Andrés Gómez Shares Timely Poem “Where Are You REALLY From?”
Carlos Andrés Gómez already schooled the world on what Hispanics look like in 2016, but the award-winning poet is twisting the lid on another question: “Where are you really from?”
“The question…in our current America is a slur disguised as a question mark. A passive aggressive microaggression saying, ‘you are other,’ saying, ‘you are not from here,’ saying ‘you are not, nor will ever be, one of us,’ saying, ‘go back to where you came from,” the Def Jam Poetry alumnus asserts.
READ: So You Want To Know What A Hispanic Looks Like? One Poet Spits The Truth
“Latin America is not just MEXICO” (feat. Carlos Andrés Gómez)
Posted by We are mitú on Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Within three minutes and 30 seconds, the New York native breaks down why he has no desire to explain himself to a soul and why he never will—a message that does not come by coincidence in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidency.
“In light of the escalating xenophobia in this country ― and, especially, the pervasive dehumanization of undocumented folks and refugees ― I had to write this poem,” the Man Up author told The Huffington Post. “I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked, ‘What are you? Where are you from?’ Those questions, particularly when they arise in tandem, have always felt demeaning.”
