This piece really touched home, as many people I know are in, or have been, incarcerated. The title of the piece captivated me. Prison Visiting Hours. I remember quite clearly the long lines and countless security measures that were taken just for a few moments to speak to someone I love. The ambient sound of people in the background really put things in perspective. The emotion that I hear in Jennifer?s voice as she speaks in her beautiful accented voice is priceless. Her tone is well, especially since she enunciates and pronounces most of her words. Additionally, she puts the right emphasis on just the right syllables, giving the listener the feelings of both sympathy and empathy. Very descriptive.

Though the piece is on the short side (playing at a length of two minutes and fifteen seconds), I truly enjoyed hearing another youth?s impression of the prison scene ? not as a ?rehabilitant?, but as a visitor. It saddens me to know that the same big brother who promised to beat up any boy who hurts his sister or makes her cry, is, in effect, the same one who is doing the hurting and paining. Throughout the piece, the conversation with the audience is fluid and well-paced which gives the narrator a personality and sense of self in the ears of the listener.

I absolutely HAVE to hear this on the radio. No doubt about it. It?s raw. It has flair. Most of all, it?s real. Many people ? both kids and adults alike ? can relate to this story. Wonderful job Martinez. Wonderful job.

?There we are, the closest we will ever be.?