On Sept. 15, the Committee for Latinx Concerns began Latinx Heritage Month by revealing their new colorful logo and welcoming poet Carlos Andrés Gómez for a reading at Peeler Art Center.
Gómez is a Colombian American poet, speaker, and author of “Fractures,” an award-winning full-length poetry collection published in 2020.
Framed by the warm lights of Peeler Auditorium, Gómez began by introducing Joseph Harris, the assistant director of DePauw’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion as an old friend. Helistened with the crowd as Harris read poems about his daughter and the routing of Confederacy, his passionate words accompanied by energetic gestures.
Weaving a personal narrative between poetry and anecdotes, Gómez’s reading was bracketed by introductions and conclusions that ultimately concerned inclusion.
He first read a new poem “Where Language Ends,” enthusiastically exploring the nuances and the heritage of languages to ultimately construct an idea of love wherein touch is a universal method of communication.
Gómez then took time to interact with his audience, asking how they enjoyed dancing. He proposed how dance can be performed from the heart, his question eliciting cheerful claps and agreements from the crowd. In his next poem, he used salsa as a metaphor for the diversions of falling in love. He highlighted, “This piece is about that moment where you unlock and open up in your life. You don’t need to have been trained at Alvin Ailey or Julliard to expand like this. I just mean open up.”
Throughout his reading, Gomez transitioned between humor and tragedy—from jokes about the absence of subways in Greencastle to remarks about the devaluation of love and life amidst corruption. As he continued to present his third poem, “Above the Speed Limit,”, he recounted the dangers faced by Black Americans at traffic stops.
A dialogue began between Gómez and the audience afterwards, exploring themes of social identity and how it affects a person’s race, abilities, class, gender, and sexual orientation. The conversation focused on minority groups' experiences with microaggressions and empathetic bafflement, effectively setting the stage for his poem "Where Are You Really From?"
Gómez then discussed the idea of machismo, a common concept in Latin American cultures. According to him, growing up in this culture framed the relationship between men as one of competitors, asking, “What were you supposed to win? Everything.” He further explored the dynamics and capacity of masculinity and male friendships in his poem “Handstitch.”
In the last poem of the night, Gómez recalled the idea of lineage and inclusion in “Gifted.” It concluded with an intimate message for his sister, as he acknowledged and accepted her dyslexia diagnosis in a single breath: “Maya, your mind is a gift of greatness.”
The poetry reading ended with warm thank you's between Gómez and the Committee for Latinx Concerns. It kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month, which will end Oct. 15.