Although this piece is not tied to the theme “Taking Our Place in History,” it does take place in my own history of living in a world where someone of my shade of color grows up Hispanic.
This poem focuses on my experience growing up in Brooklyn, New York. It addresses the challenges and stereotypes that Puerto Ricans face in the neighborhood.
My whole life I have been fascinated with my mother’s hands and how they are changing over time. I decided to dedicate a poem to them.
A heartwarming moment between a mother and daughter. Cooking pozole, a Mexican meal, and learning about their roots.
I have experienced translation as a fundamental phenomenon in my communication. I feel colonization living in my words.
The privilege to read someone’s story is great, but what counts the most is the experience you leave with after you reach the last page.
An introspective piece about returning home and seeing the past through different eyes.
Oftentimes I tend to focus on generational curses, the bad traits I’ve received from my family. My piece reflects on this and the generational blessings passed down.
This piece was inspired by a story my grandfather told me when I was younger about shape-shifting beasts in my home country of the Dominican Republic. I introduce you to both his world and a retelling of Mulan as we reach for a way to make our ancestors proud.
Growing up I was raised in a very cultured and loving community. However, when I began to interact with the world outside my community, I became aware of the many issues people like me face daily.
This piece looks at the way an unexpected Thanksgiving tradition was able to bring me and my grandfather closer.
“bloom in” is a very serious piece, which is different from how I usually write and act. But it represents me. I took the piece and thought about all the videos and photos I had of myself, my family and my friends, and it was like two sides of me. The me that is figuring out who I am and questioning it all, and the me that shows my face every day.
“I don’t want to go to college. I want to go to war.”
his project I have is a project close to me as it goes through the journey of self reflection and of healing generational trauma. I try to find my mom’s father as well as finding out my dad’s family who, to my knowledge, have either passed or changed their name. This is my best project because it is a reflection of a common wound that kids like me have. Identity issues are prevalent in people of color and this helps me gain some sort of closure with my family as well as help my mom heal.
My mother is soft like dandelions and freshly washed sheets.
