We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Catalina Rios-Hernandez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Catalina below.
Hi Catalina, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My parents allowed me to witness change; the hard decisions one must take, the grief it brings and the joy it can birth. In their mid twenties they both made the hard decision to immigrate from Mexico to the United States. Leaving their family, language and land. They taught me that change happens regardless of your plans and that its up to me to take the risk to embrace it.
Catalina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was born in Mexico, at the age of 4, I immigrated to Detroit, Michigan. I found my voice through poetry while also advocating for immigrant rights. My poems have been published and anthologized in Love & Other Futures: Poetry of Untold Stories of Liberation & Love, Anhelo Anhelo, Riverwise Megazine, Mag 20/20 and more. I was selected to be featured in America’s Emerging Poets 2018 Series for Z Publishing House. Further, I am the co-founder of Untold Stories of Liberation and Love, a poetry collective that amplifies local women of color’ creative courage. I am also the host of Detroit Hustle Podcast highlighting stories of hustle in my city. And, I love visiting the Detroit river and taking walks in Belle Isle, especially during sunset.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
Unfortunately the schools I attended did not have enough recourses to feed the creative spirts of its students. So, this meant that I was not exposed to BIPOC writers, especially immigrant writers, until I attended college. This affected how I gave worth to my stories and the stories of my community. That said, I wish that my community and its schools had more resources to invest in creative classes like writing, music, etc.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a writer is the way I make meaning of the world around me, which informs how I translate that on the page. I enjoy telling stories that honor my community, my culture and my language. But I am also not naive to the issues that impact my reality and the reality of my relatives. I tell stories that I hope is representative of my readers and allows them to see the world more clearly, whatever that means to them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://catsapoet.wordpress.com
- Instagram: @cattarioss
- Facebook: Catalina Rios
Image Credits
Image credit for bio pic: Erik Paul Howard