Juan Felipe Herrera My mother was a washerwoman – or a woman that cleaned houses in Texas… in Plano, Texas – who always loved poetry and always loved stories. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera My grandmother and my mom and my aunt Aurelia, my grandmother Juanita, my mom Lucia – we lived on the outskirts of a barrio in Mexico City called Tepito, and Tepito for many, many decades was the largest barrio in Mexico and perhaps even Latin America. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera My mother was a great storyteller and a great historian in her own way. She only made it to third grade. She came from Mexico City at the tail end of the Mexican Revolution and that kind of turmoil and chaos and frenzy and also excitement. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera In my writing, I want to address all communities, you know. I’ve spent many years talking about Chicano culture, Chicano history, and at the same time, I’ve also been in many communities and presented my work in many communities, in many classrooms, and that’s where my vision is and my delight is and my heart is. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera The banner of the project is ‘Casa de Colores.’ Under that banner, I’m going to invite people to do a lot of good things. Perhaps working in groups, working on poetry. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera I am representing California, and all of California, definitely as a Mexicano, a Chicano, a Latino. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera San Diego shaped me a lot. The visual landscapes, the emotional panoramas, the teachers and mentors I had from the third grade through San Diego High – it’s all a big part of the poetry fountain that I continue to drink from. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera What I really had was stories, the oral traditions of my parents. We moved so much that that was really our encyclopedia. A dream world told to me from my parents in the living room. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera I’m very grateful to all the people of Fresno, to Philip Levine and all the poets before me, and all the farmworkers. I didn’t get here by myself. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera If I can only be known as one thing, then, well, I guess it would be poet and performer and teacher. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera Just like my parents immigrated from ranch to ranch picking crops, I have migrated from city to city. – Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera I write while I’m walking, on little scraps of paper. If I have a melody going, I can feel it for days. – Juan Felipe Herrera
