There is only one person in our lives who loved and protected us from the moment that we born, our mothers. Thinking about that important person, Willie Perdomo wrote the poem “Unemployed Mami” in 2002 as part of the book Postcards of El Barrio (Poetry Foundation 2015). In “Unemployed Mami” and Postcard of El Barrio the author explores the culture, traditions and even the patriarchy that characterizes Puerto Ricans. Moreover, Perdomo shares the life of a son and the life of his beloved unemployed mother, in a time where women stayed at home without having a job, living from what their husbands earn. In order to enjoy and appreciate the content of this poems it is important to discuss what it means, where it takes place and what it tells about Perdomo’s life.
The Puerto Rican author starts the poem saying, even though she does not have a job Mami still works hard (Perdomo 2002). Maybe it sounds contradictory it, but it summarizes the lives of thousands of housewives that work truly hard to raise her kids and to maintain her family together. Perdomo explains how hard a mother works and how difficult her life is. The author particularizes the fact that mothers work educating their kids and killing cockroaches that could represent the temptations of life. Another thing that the author empathizes is how the mother endures abuse. Perdomo says, “She walked behind my drunken father…He beat my mami, stop beating my mami!” (Perdomo 2002). In just two single lines he exposes how