“You know how I live my life…give everyone a chance until they prove you wrong. And even if they prove you wrong, Mamá says that’s why we gifted with community and spirit for - to be able to deal with it…If a person wants to change, people have to give them a chance, right?” ChangeCommunitySecond Chances Book:The Making of Yolanda la Bruja Source: The Making of Yolanda la Bruja
“Mamá Teté has a saying: “Al que no le gusta el caldo, que le den dos tazas.” I guess I grew up thinking that was the only way. That if I didn’t like something, I should keep at it, until the habit of turning up my nose at whatever it was, was gone.” Growing UpSayingsLatinx Literature Book:The Making of Yolanda la Bruja Source: The Making of Yolanda la Bruja
“The cards are simply a tool, she says, and they should not be idolized, especially because they were given to us by a dead white man. “I’m sure he was as good as they’ll ever be, but he was still a colonizer and a businessman. Selling the cards as the only tool people could use to divinate and erasing the fact that many of us had been doing it very well without any tools at all,” she likes to remind me.” SpiritualityHistorical FictionColonialismTarotTarot Cards Author:Lorraine Avila
“Back on the island my parents come from, every one’s a little brujita. Everyone has the potential to unearth their powers and trap a lover, create a child, heal the sick, end their enemies, and even transform their life. Not everyone taps into that knowing, but it is always there at their disposal. People understand that while some are sprinkled with a little magic, others are born with the don, with the gift, with the full force. It is what it is. My people believe deeply, even if they wear their Catholic cloak on a daily basis for safety. But when shit hits the fan — and shit always hits the fan — they turn to the soil, to the skies, and the leaders of the other side. But this isn’t the island. This is not a place with an open vein of magic. This is a place where an entire race has oppressed and sat above the rest. On this land, the blood- spills always bubble back up to the surface, and instead of cleaning it, the oppressors constantly cover it up with cement. Entonces dime, who here would believe my vision?” SpiritualityYoung AdultYoung Adult FictionWitchesCaribbeanBrujasCaribbean LiteratureAfro CaribbeanAfro Latinx Book:The Making of Yolanda la Bruja Source: The Making of Yolanda la Bruja
“Back on the island my parents come from, everyone’s a little brujita. Everyone has the potential to unearth their powers and trap a lover, create a child, heal the sick, end their enemies, and even transform their life. Not everyone taps into that knowing, but it is always there at their disposal. People understand that while some are sprinkled with a little magic, others are born with the don, with the gift, with the full force. It is what it is. My people believe deeply, even if they wear their Catholic cloak on a daily basis for safety. But when shit hits the fan — and shit always hits the fan — they turn to the soil, to the skies, and the leaders of the other side. But this isn’t the island. This is not a place with an open vein of magic. This is a place where an entire race has oppressed and sat above the rest. On this land, the blood- spills always bubble back up to the surface, and instead of cleaning it, the oppressors constantly cover it up with cement. Entonces dime, who here would believe my vision?” SpiritualityFictionYoung AdultYoung Adult FictionWitchesCaribbeanBrujasAfro CaribbeanAfro Latinx Book:The Making of Yolanda la Bruja Source: The Making of Yolanda la Bruja
“Right above the mirror is the Julia De Burgos quote I’ve learned to love: “Don’t let the hand you hold, hold you down.” LovePoetryQuotesCommunityJulia De Burgos Book:The Making of Yolanda la Bruja Source: The Making of Yolanda la Bruja