Thad DeVassie

“Not going felt like forfeiture, giving permission to lose a year in the midst of losing a year.“

Ian Macartney

Even light pollution hovered below the darkness
negotiating with its formidable opponent,
the atmosphere.

Oelania Rubino & Stephanie Gaitán

As we worked through this series, editing the stories and reflecting on their contents, it became an opportunity to reflect on our own relationship to this vibrant and complex homeland.

A selection of art and photographs provided by the contributors and editors of our Canela Pa’ el Café series.

Chantal Castillo

Why not?

Stephanie Gaitán

“Mamá came to lift the curse that was placed upon Mami. ‘Te hicieron brujeria. Te echaraon un polvo en tu cama.’”

Angela E. Oliva

Mis dos criaturas crecen sin su madre
y mis brazos se marchitan y caen a pedazos.

Ayling Zulema Dominguez

“Es que tú te asfixias, hija,
my dad says with a soft smile that divulges a degree of pity I find silly.
I know that I love too damn much and too damn hard.”

Natalie Hernandez

“I’ve made multiple sancochos ​with the failed relationships my heart has harbored.”

Yasmilka Clase

“film reel captures birthday wishes
hands clap in unison as they hover over me
lips pucker up against candle
listo, sopla!”

Oelania Rubino

“I met The Witch when Papi took me to a colmado in Pueblo Nuevo. He would buy me chocolate and papitas as long as I didn’t tell Mami where we had gone.”

Gianfranco Fernandez

“Captain Collingwood’s men learned the term oppression; it stumbled out from their mouths and killed ten dead.”

Melissa Frias

“Mi negrita, dark everywhere except for her knees —peeled canela, dotted red —cries into her fruit.” 

JP Infante

“Moms mopped with Clorox, Fabuloso and sound. She cleaned the sidewalks off our tiles with Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You.’”

Annecy Báez

“Some women even boasted of becoming pregnant after eating one of her cakes, which became a boon for business.” 

L Scully

A day at the lake, and a fantasy almost made real.

Sage Ravenwood

“I used to think Quaking Aspen
clapped in merriment   Until they didn’t”

Heidi Miranda

“I met a boy and he took me stargazing
and we both cried because what else is there to do
when you feel a little reckless?”

Emily Uduwana

“Every man in my husband’s line has considered joining the cloth.”

Shannon Frost Greenstein

“I expected it to dart by, its preternatural sense for danger triggered by the sight of my toddler. I expected to continue our walk. I expected I would never again think about the orange feral cat who once crossed our path.”