Cuban-American presents poem at inaugural

The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced that first generation Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco will participate in the inaugural ceremony for President Barack Obama’s second term.

He will be the first Latino poet selected for this prestigious national honor. Past American poets who took part in presidential inaugural celebrations include Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Miller Williams, and Elizabeth Alexander.

Blanco, 44, will be the fifth and youngest poet to read original poetry composed specifically for an inaugural.

The Cuban-American writer shared the theme of his new poem with a National Public Radio interviewer: “…I really sort of have keyed in to the theme of the inauguration, which is Our People, Our Future, and writing about America is a topic that obsesses me in terms of cultural negotiation and my background as a Cuban-American.”

Blanco, who is openly gay, said he took a roundabout way to becoming an American.  He said his mother was pregnant with him when she left Cuba in 1968, and was born in Spain while awaiting entry to the United States. Weeks later the family immigrated to NewYork City, and three years later settled in Miami, Florida.

He said to be picked to read his poetry at the Jan. 20 event is a “great honor” that validates the struggles his grandparents and parents have endured, and that he feels a sense of intense gratitude.