Analysis Of Gina Valdes 'Where You From'

I’ve been an American my entire life. I’ve never thought anything of it, nor have I really thought of what it means. As simple or complex as you could make it, it means different things to different people. To some people, it could mean absolutely nothing, but to others it could mean life or death. Then of course, we have people caught in the middle, people who don’t care, others who don’t know, and even people who were not born American. Is there a typical American image in society? Do they look a certain way and speak a certain language? Who you define as is your choice, if you see yourself to be an American, then you are. The way we were taught, the way we grew up, and what we have accumulated throughout our lifetimes makes us who we are. …show more content…
Como estas? They mean the same thing, so why do we define people based upon languages that they speak? If someone were to speak English and Spanish to you on and off while having a conversation, what would you do? In a short poem by Gina Valdes called “Where You From,” does just that. She doesn’t define herself as just American or just Mexican, in fact, she is stuck in the middle. “Soy de aqui y soy de alla from here and from there born in L.A. del otro lado y de este creci en L.A.” (Gina Valdes) This is another example of looking one way and identifying as both, or another. Although she probably only looks Hispanic she defines herself, also, to be an …show more content…
But later on she talks about Chinese ethnicity. “It was my great-grandmother’s name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse--” She talks about her name with another culture, her name means different things to her, from different cultures. Where are you from? Do you assume people were born in a different country based upon looks? In a sarcastic youtube video, called “Where Are You From?” gives an example of these assumptions. In the video, this younger woman who looks of Chinese descent, is on a hike. On her hike, this middle aged man comes to her and asks where she is from, as if she was not from America, as if she were born in Asia someplace. She tells him she was born here in California, he begins to act like she doesn’t understand and repeatedly asks where she is from. Later on, she jokingly asks where he is from and acts like he is from Europe since he is clearly American and makes fun of him. This is a prime example of assuming someone defines themselves or is from a culture based upon