Acts of Resistance

This is a spoken word performance that was shown to me in my Poetry For the People class last semester.  The power expressed in Yosimar Reyes' words is remarkable.  I find it amazing how he compares his sexuality as an act of resistance.  He is not only resisting a homophobic society but also resisting the mold of a macho Latino man.  His piece ends with several lines describing what the "brown man" should do.  "Brown boys are not supposed to love like this, we are not supposed to f--k like this. We are supposed to break into women's bodies and leave them homeless..."  The word choice of this small excerpt resonates in all his listeners.  It touches so many issues of masculinity and heterosexuality in today's culture.  Men are not supposed be with men, but only women.  Reyes's, however, refuses to be oppressed by society's mold for Latino men.  He knows his identity and has no censorship about who he is. It is almost a form of political action through poetry and art.  Reyes will not be silenced.
This piece reminds me of the article we read on Chabela Vargas. She, too, did not censor her identity, her sexuality, her individuality.  She was also a power house in acts of resistance.  It was taboo in Latino society to be a homosexual, a singer, and a female all in one; however, Chabela resisted.  Her music, her songs, her voice, her style were all acts of resistance against what society wanted in a female songstress.
I find both these artists powerful and inspiring.

-Sweety Ghuman