Josiah Valcarcel

Professor Patterson

Where I’m From Summary

“WHERE IM FROM” by Willie Perdomo is a poetic homage to 110th street and Lexington Avenue. Discussing both the thrilling and demeaning aspects of the area where he lives. Being both proud and almost ashamed of the place he lives, He points out from the very beginning that a woman likes the way Perdomo talks, and the “kind of music” he listens too and even the way he carried himself. This shows that his way of living was maybe “different” than “normal” in a sense because it was something that was noticeable. Willie begins to describe his area as somewhat gruesome by showing as rougher side than usual. It was straightforward and self-explanatory, He was from what some would consider the spanish ghetto. Perdomo describes less than cheerful encounters with the police. The police would kill an entire family and would maneuver the situation where it would seem as if the family did wrong, and not the police. Willie Perdomo talks about much of the violence that occurs where he comes from. The way he describes it is not as if he’s proud but almost as if he just accepts it. Perdomo accepts it to the point of it’s something he cannot change, He may disagree with all of it but he still sees the beauty. Along with all of the violence there is always the good that combats the bad