Puerto Rican composer William Ortiz-Alvarado was raised and educated in the United States, but his Latino identity plays a vital role in his music. Particularly, his experiences as a Nuyorican in the 1970's have informed the aesthetics of his music, which transforms the sounds of the streets into art music. Unique in that respect is the use of what Ortiz calls "vocalized graffiti", verbal passages that are integrated in Ortiz' instrumental narrative.