Statement of Work

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I’m what you get when parents push law school but there’s a prima-hermana (cousin-sister) constantly playing showtunes. I’m from a childhood of being taught to shun mental health issues and gender/sexuality variations and an adulthood of finally seeing these conversations come to light – even with my own family.

My main medium is writing as it allows me to work across other mediums. I write poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and screenplays. I direct stage plays and films. I believe the story that needs to be told determines the medium it needs to appear in, and I try to honor that by honing my skills across different types of storytelling.

I was born to tell stories. I know I’m not alone in that. I find that feeling empowering. That’s why I tell stories to make people feel less alone. I want people with upbringings like mine to see that we can define ourselves. I want my stories to spark conversations that are crucial, life-changing, and maybe even life-saving. I want to show people new ways to look at the world and at the people around them. My writing themes also often contrast the expectations others have of us and the reality of ourselves, with the hope of empowering self-actualization.

Of course, my viewpoints that are informed by my intersectional identity are woven throughout my work. My particular viewpoints are: a Latinx/Tejana woman of color who is biromantic, demisexual, and limited in gender exploration in this lifetime by love for family that had a hard enough time accepting the biromanticism. That last aspect of my identity is not necessarily a popular narrative in this day and age of “love is love,” but it’s my truth. And I feel I’m likely not alone in that either.

Some questions I hope to answer in my work are: What does it mean to be human? What are universal human experiences? What does it take to love? What is love made of? What is neurotypical? What is cyclothymia? What is Latinidad? What is family? What is legacy? Are we defined by our circumstances? By the way we were raised? What is self-actualization?

My work is lyrical and image-driven. It’s colorful, visceral, at times whimsical, dark, brooding, and sometimes manic. My writing style is informed by dreams and moods. I love to employ magical realism to ask my audience to step beyond the physical world and allow their imagination to play. I find imagination so empowering, as it can allow us to hope for alternatives to the challenges with which we struggle.

I’m strengthened by audience members who tell me that my work made them feel less alone. I’m humbled by people who say that my work makes them feel empowered, or helped them understand their own emotions that they hadn’t figured out how to put into words. I’m excited by the look in readers’ eyes as they read, and carried on by seeing people enraptured by my work. I’m spurred by the memory of my mom eagerly asking “What happens next?” the first time I showed her one of my story drafts when I was around 8 years old. I’m spurred by the legacy of my prima-hermana Veronica who shared in my creativity, wrote songs with me through childhood, and gave me courage to listen to my heart and pursue an artistic career. I’m driven by the legacies of my family: a few notable names, lost history, a lot of heartache, and a lot of love inspiring seemingly-impossible triumph.

I feel called to bear witness to life as I see it, and want to leave a legacy of work that inspires people to appreciate life in all its complexity. I feel like that’s what will define me, and I want to impact the world to make it one more in-tune with humanity and the beautiful experience of emotion, meaning, and connection.