Latina author Lisa Hernandez said writing short stories is a way of expressing her uniqueness.
Voices Breaking Boundaries and Arte Publico Press teamed together to present a reading of Migrations and Other Stories by Hernandez at Bohemeos cafe on Tuesday.
Hernandez said she writes about issues many Latin Americans have to deal with. She is working on a short story involving an undocumented student who can’t attend college because she is an illegal immigrant.
"To me, if you can’t invest in these people it destroys the American dream," Hernandez said. "Why do people come here in the first place – because they believe in that dream and you crush them by denying them an education. People sacrifice their lives so that their sons and daughters can progress."
Hernandez also said writing gives her a chance to create a character who acts unlike her and that allows her to then create a world around that character.
"It’s being able to really invent and create places and situations," Hernandez said.
Her inspiration for writing comes from her mother, who she said is an excellent storyteller, and her father. No one in her family writes, however, so she formed a group that meets once a month to discuss writing projects and stir creativity.
Hernandez won the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize sponsored by the University of California, Irvine. Assistant Director of Arte Publico Press Marina Tristan said Arte Publico publishes the winners of the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize.
UH alumna Jasminne Rosario also presented a performance poetry piece at Bohemeos Thursday.
"No one wants to hear the story of a Latina anymore," Rosario recited from My Book of Poetry, a collection of poems she wrote from a Latina perspective.
She received her undergraduate degree in English literature and her master’s degree in education from UH.
Rosario said she was pushed back into writing after taking a class offered by a UH visiting scholar and Latina poet Sarah Cortez, according to a UH press release.
"At that point I realized that my voice as a woman and a Latina was important," Rosario said.
Rosario said technical terms such as "Latina" and "Hispanic" don’t bother her.
"I speak Spanish and I’m proud of it, is what it basically boils down to," Rosario said.
She said she wants Latino youth to have a role model and a representative in the field of arts to look up to.
"I do it for the younger generation and because it’s hard being a Dominican in Texas," Rosario said.
Too many people let life pass them by without making an impact, Rosario said. She wants her words to marinate in the minds of the audience members, even after her performance is over.
"I think we spend too much of our lives very passively and I really want them to go home thinking and talking about it," Rosario said.
