1.4 “I am Joaquín” Activity

Jackie Hendricks; Amy Lueck; Loring Pfeiffer; and Maura Tarnoff

Putting It All Together: “I Am Joaquín” Activity

In this module, we have explored the rhetorical complexity of language and worked to affirm our own cultural, linguistic, and personal identities as rhetorical resources.

Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez’s poem “I Am Joaquín” (“Yo soy Joaquín,” 1967) is a key text of the Chicano Rights movement of the 1960s and 70s. The poem explores what it means to have a multicultural, multilingual identity, speaking to the histories, experiences, and struggles of Mexican Americans. The poem offers a powerful expression of personal and collective identity.

Task: As an opportunity to reflect on and express your own unique voice, you will write your own “I am…” poem, inspired by “I am Joaquín.”

Purpose: Deepen your understanding and appreciation of your own linguistic resources by mobilizing them in a creative form with a sense of rhetorical purpose.

Steps:
1. Read: “I Am Joaquín” [Website] by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez
2. Watch: High school students reciting the poem [YouTube]
3. Reflect:

  • What cultures, histories, struggles (personal or collective), and traditions have shaped who you are?
  • What strengths do you draw from your community, culture, and background?
  • If you were to declare “I am…” like Joaquín does, what words or images would follow?

4. Use Gonzales’s poem as inspiration, write your own “I Am…”/“Yo soy” poem by beginning with an opening declaration: “I am…” followed by a defining aspect of your identity. Consider including the following elements:

  • Cultural or historical connections (e.g., references to traditions or ancestors)
  • Personal or collective challenges that have shaped you.
  • Statement of affirmation, where you take pride in who you are and your identity

5. Consider your audience and how they might shape your language use and purposes in this piece. Who are they to you? What are you assuming they know? How is what you’re writing going to help them understand, appreciate, relate, or be inspired to take action as a result of interacting with your poem?

 

Student Example: Jacob Salazar

Yo soy el hijo de Raul y Misqueya, their resilience lives on in me

I am the product of Jesuit education, hoping in my keep to go set the world on fire

I am puro Dominicano, imbued with hospitality and a flair for dancing

I am the feeling of isolation, the “other” in a crowd,

I am the tide—

washing away your borders of difference in my stride

I am ready for what is to come

So go ahead,

Throw the first punch

 

Attribution

“‘I am Joaquín’ Activity” by Jackie Hendricks, Amy Lueck, Loring Pfeiffer, and Maura Tarnoff is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

 

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

1.4 “I am Joaquín” Activity Copyright © by Jackie Hendricks; Amy Lueck; Loring Pfeiffer; and Maura Tarnoff is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book