Jazzmin Joya, age 16

This poem was written as part of the Ofrenda Community Project, a collaboration with the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County. The inspiration object was a miniature of the Lowriders Imperial Club.

She Reminds Me of Everything

Her eyes are everywhere
They stare deeply at me as I grow
She’s engraved on the candles we place to give my loved ones light
She holds my mother’s hand,
Keeping her together or else she might fall
She’s the Virgen my ancestors grew up believing in

She’s the telenovela that always plays on my TV
The only entertainment at my mami Mona’s house
She saves lost souls like myself who pray for her guidance
Her white rose gives hope
The sappy drama written by Hispanic writers
All feels safe
Reminding me of my late Hispanic abuelita
Who loved telenovelas as much as she loved me

She’s the reason for the loud, clapping of feet hitting the street pavement
The reason people from my street gather
Crowded up in one yard
To hear the priest talk about the Virgen on her birthday
A large portrait of her, lit with dozens of candles
And silhouettes of white roses
Stands at the front
We all stare, at the beauty
Pozole and champurrado dance in the air, tempting our bellies
I remember staring in awe at the dancers
Skirts rattling as they move swiftly on their feet
Honoring and celebrating the Virgen
The one who will help them if they make the wrong decisions

I admire the Virgen de Guadalupe
She symbolizes some of the best parts of growing up
She reminds me of time I spent with my mami Mona
She’s who I think of when I see a white rose
She’s who I pray to when I pass a mural of her
I smile every time I hear the theme song to “La Rosa de Guadalupe”
Because it reminds me of her
And she reminds me of everything