Los Medanos College hosted an event this past Wednesday where students and faculty stopped by the Student Union to hear Yosimar Reyes speak about migration. Other themes covered ranged from sexual identity, equity and family among other topics.
Reyes, a nationally acclaimed poet, spoke about his past, being born in Guerrero Mexico and raised in the east side of San Jose. It was here where he and his family settled after coming to the United States in 1991.
But they didn’t live easily as they found themselves constantly below the poverty line, according to Reyes. While growing up in this environment, Reyes grew familiar with the struggles of living undocumented in the U.S. as he, like many of his peers in the area, faced challenges while growing up.
“I didn’t know what [not having documentation] meant until I was 16. Everyone is getting a job and driving and I can’t drive.” said Reyes as he talked about certain disadvantages he grew up with.
But it was also around this time where Reyes began writing poems about the struggles he was facing. He would journal his thoughts and write about what came to his mind. Whether it be frustrations due to genderism in his community or a brief moment out of his day, Reyes began to weave poems and stories around his experiences growing up and in his life.
Inspired by a love for books, Reyes took to poetry because he wanted to create powerful stories the same way he was reading them.
As he started college, it was also around the time he was offered the opportunity to speak at a school and according to Reyes, the opportunity pushed him forward.
“I got invited to a school and then other people saw me and more people invited me [to speak] and so it gradually started going up,” said Reyes.
As he completed community college, which he attributes as one of the best times of his life, he moved on to San Francisco State University to major in English with an emphasis on creative writing. While he progressed through college, Reyes’ continued writing about challenges he and those around him experienced.
While he continued to write poems and speak to students about his story as an undocumented writer, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic would see Reyes return to east San Jose and act as a caregiver for his grandmother. While helping around the neighborhood, Reyes would see again just how hard it can be to be undocumented. Yet this experience would also serve to inspire Reyes.
“The stories my grandma told me; my family, my neighbors. They would be so open and vulnerable with how hard their lives were and I was like: ‘Wow, no one’s really documenting this.’ So I started writing,” said Reyes.
Through his work documenting his story and the stories of others, Yosimar Reyes provided a moving presentation that had some members in the audience in tears as he left them with a final message.
“We all live dynamic lives, sometimes we’re so busy that we forget to pause and savor the moment,” said Reyes.
