In I am Joaquin, Joaquin (the narrative voice of the poem) speaks of the struggles that the Chicano people have faced in trying to achieve economic justice and equal rights in the U.S., as well as to find an identity of being part of a hybrid mestizo society.
He promises that his culture will survive if all Chicano people stand proud and demand acceptance.
In its entirety, the poem describes the then modern dilemma of Chicanos in the 1960s trying to assimilate with American culture while trying to keep some semblance of their culture intact for future generations, then proceeds to outline 2000 years of Mexican and Mexican-American history, highlighting the different, often opposing strains that make up the Chicano heritage.
In the poem, for example, the speaker, Joaquin, traces both his ancestry to the Spanish conquistadores and the Aztecs they conquered; he also identifies with revolutionary figures of Mexican history such as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Benito Juárez, Pancho Villa and Joaquin Murrieta who was a legendary Californian known for seeking retribution against the Anglo-Americans invaders who killed his wife.
"[4] In 1969, the poem was adapted into a short film by director Luis Valdez, a leading figure in Chicano theater.