Synopsis
"Rey M. Rodríguez has written a love letter to all of us women, sisters, mothers. His is an important voice that needs to be heard. His words, full of poetry and heart, will touch your soul and make you feel less alone."
-Reyna Grande, author of The Distance Between Us, finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and Across a Hundred Mountains, winner of the American Book Award and the Premio Aztlán Literary Award
"A treatise in poetry about one of the most important stories of our time-the formation and work of Proyecto Pastoral in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. Violence, drugs, and death plagued these streets, which in the 1990s and into the 2000s were the most gang-inflicted in the country. But mothers stood up for healing, peace, for saving the children. Projects arose to help youth but also the unhoused and migrants. People in need. God's work. Powerful figures like Father Greg Boyle met the call. Here Rey M. Rodríguez uses poems to carry their voices, stories, pains, and joys. In Spanish and English, in any language, it's a work of art, a work of action."
-Luis J. Rodríguez, former Los Angeles Poet Laureate, author of Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A." and It Calls You Back: An Odyssey through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing
"Written for the community and the love found within, Rodríguez's collection is a moving tribute to the women of Boyle Heights. With keen tenderness, Rodriguez's ability to share the stories about the women, mothers and grandmothers of his community, in a place that provides both sanctuary and loss, with the ceaseless nature of love is both inspiring and impressive. Rodriguez's words reveal the light found within."
-m.s. RedCherries, author of mother, winner of the American Book Award and National Book Award Finalist
About the Authors
Jose Ramirez is an artist. In the past 30 years, he has illustrated children's books, painted murals and completed commissions for numerous organizations and individuals.Ramirez is also an educator. He has taught in LAUSD for over 30 years (mostly 3rd grade) and is currently an Intervention Specialist at Esperanza Elementary in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Los Angeles.He received a BFA (1990) and an MFA (1993) in art from UC Berkeley. In 1995, he received a California Teaching Credential from CSULA. In 2001, he received the California Community Foundation Visual Artist Fellowship.He has worked with Altamed, National Immigration Law Center, Los Angeles Public Library, UCLA Center X, Children's Institute, Trejo's Tacos, Glendale Community College, California Wellness Foundation, Inner City Struggle, Community Coalition and Self Help Graphics. His work was exhibited at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington DC, Plaza de la Raza, Avenue 50 Gallery in Highland Park and Homegirl Café in Los Angeles. His paintings were featured on the CBS TV show, The Good Fight. He is currently working on a children's book titled Mi papa es un agrícola/My Father is a Fieldworker (Lil Libros) and a tile mural for the city of Los Angeles.He is the proud father of 3 daughters:Tonantzin, Luna and Sol.
Rey M. Rodríguez is a writer, advocate, and attorney. He lives in Pasadena, California. He is working on a novel set in Mexico City. He attended the Yale Writers' Workshop multiple times and Palabras de Pueblo workshop once. He participated in Story Studio's Novel in a Year Program. He received his MFA in fiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts in May 2026. His poetry is published in Huizache. His interviews and book reviews can be found at La Bloga, Chapter House's Storyteller's Corner, Full Stop, Pleiades Magazine, and the Los Angeles Review. He is a graduate of Cornell, Princeton, and U.C. Berkeley Law School.
Javier H. Morrone is a California Certified Court Interpreter and president of Lex Lingua Court Interpreters, Inc., with a distinguished career spanning more than fifteen years across legal, medical, academic, and diplomatic settings. Holding graduate degrees in American History and Economics from California State University Los Angeles, he teaches medical and legal translation and interpretation at UCLA Extension, Pasadena City College, and Moreno Valley College. Javier has interpreted for the California Courts, the U.S. Department of Justice immigration courts, international conferences, and high-profile events including the Summit of the Americas, the UN-hosted Climate Summit, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and live broadcasts of two FIFA World Cups.
Jose Ramirez is an artist. In the past 30 years, he has illustrated children's books, painted murals and completed commissions for numerous organizations and individuals.Ramirez is also an educator. He has taught in LAUSD for over 30 years (mostly 3rd grade) and is currently an Intervention Specialist at Esperanza Elementary in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Los Angeles.He received a BFA (1990) and an MFA (1993) in art from UC Berkeley. In 1995, he received a California Teaching Credential from CSULA. In 2001, he received the California Community Foundation Visual Artist Fellowship.He has worked with Altamed, National Immigration Law Center, Los Angeles Public Library, UCLA Center X, Children's Institute, Trejo's Tacos, Glendale Community College, California Wellness Foundation, Inner City Struggle, Community Coalition and Self Help Graphics. His work was exhibited at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington DC, Plaza de la Raza, Avenue 50 Gallery in Highland Park and Homegirl Café in Los Angeles. His paintings were featured on the CBS TV show, The Good Fight. He is currently working on a children's book titled Mi papa es un agrícola/My Father is a Fieldworker (Lil Libros) and a tile mural for the city of Los Angeles.He is the proud father of 3 daughters: Tonantzin, Luna and Sol.
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