After spending three months in Mexico City at age 12,Chicago-born Joe Hernandez-Kolski returned to the United Stateswith stories of sunsets and pyramids filled with history.
But he still didn't know who he was.
"My identity, as I believe all of ours is, is a bit morecomplicated than that," Hernandez-Kolski said Tuesday night at theL.A. Pittenger Student Center. "It's not like I woke up and saidI'm 'Superior Ethnic Boy' and am no longer tied down by theconfines of the past."
The hip-hop poet and comedian, also known as "Pocho Joe,"performed for nearly 50 students in a presentation called "RefriedLatino Pride," where he read original poems and described hisstruggle to find his identity. His mother was Mexican, but hisfather was Polish and German, he said.
Hernandez-Kolski said he chose to change his last name as anadult out of respect for both of his families. The term "pocho" isa derogatory term used among Mexican nationals and refers toLatinos who straddle between being an authentic Mexican and anAmerican, but he said he uses it as a term of pride.
Hernandez-Kolski currently lives in Los Angeles but attendedPrinceton University where he majored in Civil Rights History withcertificates in African-American Studies and Theatre and Dance. InLos Angeles, he works as an actor, dancer and Spoken Word poet.
"I write because I need to," Hernandez-Kolski said. "I writebecause I have to. I write just to empty my brain. Anytime I findmyself writing because I want to create a wicked slam piece, I takea step back."
In his first poem called "Why Hip Hop?" Hernandez-Kolskiexplained the power of hip-hop music in his life. He said hecreated it when he was teaching a hip-hop culture class to middleschool students and his boss became concerned about what hisstudents were learning.
"Hip-hop's a book, a thought, a state of mind," Hernandez-Kolskisaid in the poem. When used in the right way, he said hip hop isnot merely about record deals and getting rich but can trulyinspire other individuals.
In his poem "Justified," Hernandez-Kolski emphasized the needfor people of all races to be original in sharing themselves withthe world.
The poet also described how television today departmentalizesraces and how children should be encouraged to embrace performersof all backgrounds. Some of his favorite performers range fromMiles Davis, James Brown and Stevie Wonder to John Mellencamp, DaveMatthews and Smashing Pumpkins, he said.
Junior Kent Roberson, Student Government Associationrepresentative for the Latino Student Union, said he likedHernandez-Kolski's focus on establishing cultural identity.
"I enjoyed how he dealt with cultural identities that face manyminorities," Roberson said. "He dealt with the issues of beingaccepted in a white-dominated culture."
Hernandez-Kolski said he hopes his poetry continues to encouragestudents to stay true to who they are and to not get caught up inacceptance.
"I want my words to help people be themselves," Hernandez-Kolskisaid. "I try to get up there and reveal as much as I can ofmyself."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
