Where are you really from?
Standing on stage in the Tuohy Hall auditorium Carlos Andrés Gómez, a Colombian-American poet, author, actor and activist, posed the question to a packed room of students at SJC Brooklyn this month. 
“What are you? What’s your composition what are you made of? — I’ve gotten those questions a bunch of times,” Gómez said, leading into one of his poems, “Where are you really from?”
For more than a decade, Gómez wrote extensively about being Latino in America, and toxic masculinity — and the societal pressures it put on him from a young age. The poems reflected on Gómez’s stark, raw emotions in every stanza recited. His poems also touched on other topics, including relationships, politics and family.
Gómez wrote the memoir “Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood.” The book explores the pressures of masculinity Gómez experienced while growing up. He also has acting credits in such movies as “Inside Man,” “The L Word” and “The Third Month Termination.”
Gómez Returns to SJC Brooklyn
Santiago Marin Araque, president of Poder Latino and a sophomore computer science major, said it was important to invite a speaker like Gómez to campus to talk about masculinity. Araque noted that many campus events examine femininity and what it’s like to be a woman. But discussing toxic masculinity is also an important part of the conversation, he said.
Araque added that he especially wanted to invite Gómez to St. Joseph’s because upperclassmen who saw Gómez perform a couple of years ago still rave about his poems.
The Office of Student Involvement and Leadership and Poder Latino sponsored the performance.
Thank you so much for inviting me back & putting on such a wonderful event! https://t.co/1y8mpAPWkD
— Carlos Andrés Gómez (@CarlosAGLive) April 10, 2019
