When Joaquín Zihuatanejo was a child, his uncle, Tío Silastino asked, “Mijo, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
, “In a pandemic-bruised city, with a war raging on the other side of the world and politicians gone mad, he seems to occupy an honest, quiet headspace, a space where people would want to be, whether they live in Vickery Meadow or Highland Park.” [snot-nosed kid] my Tío Silastino told me, ‘Maybe words will be your way out of the barrio, maybe words will be your way back into the barrio to save us all.
“The rules are written that they need either to live in Dallas or have a work history, influence in Dallas and work address in Dallas,” Dease says. “[Zihuatanejo] grew up in Dallas. He graduated from a Dallas high school. He started the youth poetry slam, and he has an office in Dallas where he talks with young poets.”
Rock Baby and Jonathan “GNO” White became Zihuatanejo’s mentors, and he says he kept asking them questions about slam poetry. They could tell he was hungry to learn. “He helped us grow and taught us how to write,” says Anastacia, who is now 17. “He didn't just tell me this poetry isn't good and here is exactly how you can make it better. He really pushed me to expand my boundaries. In my mind, he's like a second father. He's become part of our family.”
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