Vincente Perez Experiences About Race & Identity

Vincente Perez Experiences About Race & Identity

Vincente Perez Experiences about Race & Identity

By Marwa Raja

For today’s segment, we introduce Vincente Perez; a Poet, activist, musician and more. Perez focuses on the experiences of race in America through several mediums. For those who have suffered from an identity crisis, Vincente Perez is the name you need to know. His work centers on Black and Latino experiences with a special emphasis on narrative and identity politics.

“I attempt to let narrative drive my attempts to interpret and analyze the world where people like me aren’t allowed to fully exist” (Perez.)

Perez has the talent to introduce Anthropology, Race/Ethnic Studies, and poetry with narrative to discuss the intricacies of multiracial experiences. He partakes in the ability to weave between various artistic and academic genres to produce a narrative that can hold its own in either genre.

According to Perez; he is continuously working on exploring the liminal space that multiracial folks are suspended in as a way to discuss and illuminate the essential nature of race and identity politics in this particular moment in history. His interest in politicizing identity is of means to an end and not an end unto itself.

His work consists of a mixture of performance tactics including, but not limited to, spoken word poetry, hip-hop, and storytelling. Perez finds it most important to highlight the importance of performance analytics when studying human interactions. In order to try to challenge the elite nature of art and art practiced by mobilizing marginalized narratives and language to interject dominant narratives. The beautifully executed blend of activism and academic ideas are used to underline the political nature of art-making and the blind-spots within academic communities.

“If art is to transgress it must take on the things about ourselves we take for granted. I take a central focus in my art to put all of these concepts and critiques into action via performance” (Perez). Throughout the journey of figuring questionable comfort over which culture he could belong, Vincente found his voice. A voice he has used to express and educate those who suffered an identity crisis and those who are simply unaware of cultural differences. To learn more about Vincente Perez take a listen to the podcast provided.

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