¨The difference between a backyard and a graveyard is only what you choose to put in the ground, and maybe this whole time, I already had things I’ve been asking others to give me¨
These are the words of Rudy Francisco, a slam poet who is known for his raw honesty and introspection.
Rudy Francisco’s path to becoming the poet he is known as today could have been completely different. Born and raised in San Diego, California, with Belizean descent, Rudy grew up in a household where education was the main priority. On this, Rudy did not disappoint, eventually earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology, and later on his Master´s. Rudy was also in the third year of his PhD program and decided to leave to pursue his true calling.
Although he had been writing poems since high school, he sparked some buzz on his first performances on HBO Def Poetry Jam. Rudy was too shy at the time, so one of his friends signed him up for an open mic in college, so Rudy could leave his fears, something that sparked his decade-long success in the future. Around the mid-2010s, Rudy was drifting through pathways to grow his image as a literary and television personality, but his poetry has won him deserved recognition, and that is still talked about today, for example.
In one of his most famous works ¨Complainers¨ Rudy says ¨Tell me, how can you complain about the rain when there are people who haven’t seen a drop of water in weeks¨ In this quote, I interpret it as those who are not grateful for what they have, someone with a roof over their head, the rain might ruin their day, but for someone who has not seen rain in a while it can be a miracle, again I believe this quote is meant to interpret and to be understand at your own morals, but the messages are clear, Rudy makes the audience questions themselves, even on the small day to day things that we do that or engage with that we don’t appreciate.
Francisco is clearly not just another poet; he is also for his community, and he also co-founded Collective Purpose, which is an organization that is labeled as ¨The most iconic and longest running poetry spaces¨” in the city. In 2010, he also won an individual award that led him to become the first poet to perform a full-length piece on ¨The Tonight Show starring Jimmy fallon show¨. As of today, Rudy Francisco stands as a pillar between the academic and artistic, and he has proven this through many stages and ways throughout his journey.
