"Where You From?"

Title: Where You From?

Poet: Gina Valdés

Lexile Level: 1000L - 1100L *

Qualitative Level (Based on SCASS Qualitative Measures Rubric: LITERATURE)

  • TEXT STRUCTURE: Moderately Complex
  • LANGUAGE FEATURES: Very Complex
  • MEANING: Very Complex
  • KNOWLEDGE DEMANDS: Very Complex

Source: Valdéz, G. (1994). Where You From. In L. M. Carlson (Ed.), Cool salsa: Bilingual poems on growing up Latino in the United States (pp. 21-22). New York: Fawcett Books.

Format or text type: Poem

Summary & Justification: "Where You From?" is a poem written by Gina Valdéz about the liminal state of growing up between two cultures.

Valdéz uses geographic and cultural references from both sides of the boarder as well as a good deal of translanguaging and interesting structural choices, such as literally splitting the word frontera (border).

This sort of cultural and geographic liminal state is also part of Aristotle and Dante's journey to self-awareness, and something that readers even see their parents still struggling with.

Additional useful notes:

  • Lexile levels are designed for prose and information texts, not poetry.
  • Teacher led or peer supported; at grade level
  • Glossary:
    • Soy de aquí/y soy de allá: I'm from here/and I'm from there
    • del otro lado/y de éste: from the other side and this side
    • crecí en L.A./y en Ensenada: I grew up in Los Angeles/and Ensenada
    • naranjas/con chile: oranges/with chile
    • soy del sur/y del norte: I'm from the south/and the north
    • crecí zurda/y norteada: I grew up left-handed/and northern
    • cruzando fron/teras: crossing bor/ders
    • tartamuda/y mareada: stuttering/and dizzy